


But I'm a Weasley!

by Anisky



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-03 00:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4079116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anisky/pseuds/Anisky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose Weasley didn't mean to be different.  She didn't intend to stand out in her family. She didn't expect to be Sorted... into Slytherin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Sorting

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Harry Potter, and I'm making no profit off of this story. Further, the characters I've made up and the plot don't even belong to me-- as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer, I had no intellectual property rights for anything I creatde during that two year period; anything I wrote or made is public domain and I'm not allowed to make any profit off of even original work. So the things that don't belong to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, or WB are considered to be public domain, and technically you can use them as you like. I'd appreciate if you'd at least tell me, but that's courtesy, not law. 
> 
> A/N: As you'll be able to see, this story starts a tiny bit before the Deathly Hallows Epilogue leaves off. And yes, I got the title of the fic from the excellent movie “But I'm a Cheerleader!”, but it's pretty much just the title-- I'm pretty sure Rose is straight in this story. I do think JK Rowling was hinting at Rose/Scorpius, actually. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> A/N 2: I could use a beta. In particular, a Britpicker. Let me know if you're interested!

Title: But I'm a Weasley!

Author: Anisky

Summary: Rose Weasley didn't mean to be different. She didn't intend to stand out in her family. She didn't expect to be Sorted... into Slytherin.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Harry Potter, and I'm making no profit off of this story. Further, the characters I've made up and the plot don't even belong to me-- as a current United States Peace Corps Volunteer, I have no intellectual property rights for anything I create during this two year period; anything I write or make is public domain and I'm not allowed to make any profit off of even original work. So the things that don't belong to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, or WB are considered to be public domain, and technically you can use them as you like. I'd appreciate if you'd at least tell me, but that's courtesy, not law.

 

A/N: As you'll be able to see, this story starts a tiny bit before the Deathly Hallows Epilogue leaves off. And yes, I got the title of the fic from the excellent movie “But I'm a Cheerleader!”, but it's pretty much just the title-- I'm pretty sure Rose is straight in this story. I do think JK Rowling was hinting at Rose/Scorpius, actually. Hope you enjoy!

 

A/N 2: I could use a beta. In particular, a Britpicker. Let me know if you're interested!

 

-

-

-

 

Chapter 1

 

Rose looked around Platform 9 ¾. Where  _ were _ they? It was so hard to see in all this smoke, and she was so nervous, she would feel a lot better when she saw--

 

All at once, the family of five came close enough that Rosie and her family could see their faces. It was the Potters! Exactly who Rose had been hoping to find.

 

“Hi,” Albus said to her, sounding as relieved as Rose felt. She smiled widely at him. Rosie was awfully glad that Albus was in the same year as her and starting Hogwarts at the same time. She couldn't imagine if she'd had to start school all alone and knowing nobody, like her mother had so many years ago. 

 

Her father and Uncle Harry chatted about Muggle driving as they hauled hers and Albus's trunks onto the train.

 

“So what house do you think you'll be in, Rosie?” Hugo asked her excitedly. 

 

“Well, Gryffindor, I hope,” she answered. “But I might end up in Ravenclaw, I guess.” 

 

“I'm definitely going to be in Gryffindor!” Lily announced. “I can't wait. I want to go now!”

 

“I dunno,” Hugo said. “Gryffindor's cool and all, but do you really want to be with our entire family? I mean, anything you do wrong, you know  _ somebody's  _ going to owl one of our aunts or uncles.” 

 

“So what house do you want to be in?” Lily asked.

 

“I said, I dunno,” Hugo answered. “Maybe Ravenclaw?”

 

Just then their father and Uncle Harry came back, and heard their last snipped of conversation.

 

“If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you," said their dad, "but no pressure." 

 

“Ron!” her mother admonished.

 

Lily and Hugo laughed, but it didn't seem so funny to Rosie. Glancing over at Albus, she could tell that he was worried too.

 

Hugo had a point. Rosie, already an over-achieving bookworm, had mapped out how many Weasleys or Potters would be at Hogwarts during each of her years there. This year, there would be six in total: Victoire, who was a seventh year and would be Head Girl; Molly, who was a fifth year and a newly-made prefect; Dominique in third year; James in second; and now, she and Albus in their first year. Victoire, Molly, Dominique, and James were Gryffindors all. Nobody had yet broken the tradition.

 

And once fifth year rolled around for Rosie, there would be no fewer than  _ ten  _ Weasley-Potters at Hogwarts. Gryffindor would be overrun with them. 

 

But it would be even worse to be left out of that. Rosie bit her lip.

 

“He doesn't mean it,” both Mum and Aunt Ginny assured her, and Rose tried to relax a bit.

 

“Look who it is,” Dad said suddenly. Rose whirled around to see who he was talking about, apparently a family of three, father and son both blonde. She didn't know them, but it was obvious her parents, aunt and uncle did.

 

"So that's little Scorpius," her Dad said, almost too quiet for Rose to hear him. . "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

 

"Ron, for heaven's sake," said Mum. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

 

"You're right, sorry," said Dad, then he said, "Don't get  _ too  _ friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood." 

 

"Hey!" James called, and yammered something about Teddy and Victoire. Rosie, however, gazed over at Scorpius instead of paying attention. She'd heard her parents talk about Malfoy a few times, but she'd never had a face to put to the name. Scorpius didn't look so bad. In fact he looked almost as nervous as she was. Something perverse in her suddenly wanted to get to know him.

 

He turned his head and looked surprised to see her staring at him. Rose flushed and turned away quickly, trying to focus instead on her family's conversation.

 

"It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board," Uncle Harry said. Rosie, who had been looking forward to going to Hogwarts for years, hugged her Mum and Dad goodbye and scrambled to get onto the train.

 

“I'll save a seat for you!” she told Albus as she scampered onto the Hogwarts Express. 

 

But her way was blocked by a bunch of students, all staring out the window. Rose huffed impatiently, and still hadn't managed to get very far a few minutes later when Albus joined her.

 

“Why are they all staring?” Albus asked, leaning out the window and trying to see whatever the others were looking at.

  
Rose rolled her eyes. She loved her cousin, but he could be so clueless!

 

“It's me,” Dad said, calling up to them. “I'm extremely famous.” 

 

Rosie laughed, and so did Albus, as the light bulb seemed to go off over his head.  _ Yes, Albus,  _ Rose thought sarcastically,  _ your father saving the wizarding world  _ does  _ make him famous.  _

 

Finally the train pulled away and all the other student stopped gaping and starting moving to find empty compartments. Rose walked down the corridor, Albus trailing behind her, as they tried to find somewhere to sit. James might have let them sit with him, but his compartment was completely full. Another compartment contained Dominique, one of her friends, and more boys than could comfortably sit down-- some of them were standing up just to be near her.

 

“She's only thirteen!” Rosie exclaimed once they'd shut the door to that compartment. “Some of those guys were definitely at least fifth or sixth years. That's kind of sick.”   
  
“I guess they can't help it, with her being part-Veela and all,” Albus offered. 

 

Finally they found a free compartment, and sat down together.

 

“Rosie?” Albus asked, hesitantly. “What would you do if I were in Slytherin?”

 

“What do you mean, what would I do?” Rose asked. 

 

“I mean, would you still talk to me?”

 

“Nope. I'd never speak to you again, of course,” Rose said sarcastically. Honestly, her cousin could be so stupid sometimes. “I might end up in Ravenclaw, you know. Would you still talk to me?”

 

“That's different,” Al objected.

 

“How?”

 

“It's...  _ Slytherin. _ ”

 

“Yeah, I guess,” Rosie said with a shrug. “Well, better you than me.”

 

“Hey!”

 

But Al's annoyed remark was cut off when a dark-haired girl opened the door. “Do you mind if I join you?” she asked.

 

Both Rosie and Al knew her vaguely; it was Leonora Thomas, whose mother and father were good enough friends with their parents to come to one or two big parties each year-- particularly Victory Day-- but not good enough for them to come around many other times.

 

“Of course you can, Leonora,” Rose said sweetly, secretly relishing that her cousin's protests were cut off. “So, are you excited for your first year?”

 

“Oh, yes!” 

 

“Are you worried about what house you'll be sorted into?” Albus asked. 

 

“Are you capable of talking about anything else?” Rose asked impatiently. “You've been talking about Hogwarts Houses nonstop for a week! Give it a rest!”

 

“You must be very worried,” Leonora said kindly. 

 

Albus shrugged uncomfortably.

 

“I guess I'm more excited than worried,” Leonora answered Albus's original question. “Dad was a Gryffindor and Mum was a Ravenclaw, and both sound excellent to me. It usually goes in families, you know.”

 

“But not always,” Albus pointed out. 

 

Leonora shrugged. “Mum and Dad say I'm a Gryffindor through and through. And I've heard my parents saying you're exactly like your dad, Albus, so I'm sure you'll be in Gryffindor too.”

  
Al looked a bit comforted by that. “Thanks, Leonora,” he said.

 

Just then the door slid open again and a boy, even darker than Leonora, poked his head into the compartment. “Sorry, everywhere's full. Can I come in?”

 

“Sure,” Rose said. “Come on in. Though, what does it say about us that we're the only place with free space? You're scaring people away, Al.”

 

Albus grinned, “Who, me? Scare people away? You're confusing me with  _ your face. _ ” 

 

The boy raised his eyebrows as he sat down.

 

“That, or you're confusing my face with your smell,” Rosie shot back with a grin. 

 

Both Leonora and the new boy seemed alarmed now.

 

“Al and I like to insult each other, but it's all in good fun,” Rosie explained to them hastily. 

 

“Yeah, don't mind us,” Albus agreed. “It's just our shtick.” 

 

This was a common problem with Rose and Albus.

 

With all the insults flying back and forth between them, even their parents often forgot that Rose and Albus were best friends. Even Rose's mum, who usually seemed to know everything, just didn't understand that was the whole point: they liked each other so much, and were so comfortable with each other, that Rosie and Al knew, without the slightest doubt, that the other didn't really mean it. They both knew that no matter what they said to each other, they loved each other and they knew they were only kidding. 

 

But everybody else found it as weird as all heck.

 

“So what's your name?” Rose asked the boy who had entered.

 

“I'm Tony. Tony Zabini. How about you?”

 

“I'm Rose Weasley, and this is my cousin Albus Potter.” 

 

Tony shot them a brief, surprised look-- it seemed he'd heard of them, or at least, had quickly deduced who their parents were-- but he quickly schooled his expression back to neutral.

 

“And I'm Leonora Thomas,” Leonora introduced herself. 

 

“Nice to meet you all,” Tony said politely. “What were you talking about?”

 

“Al here's just freaking out over what house he'll be in,” Rose said. “Which is Slytherin.”

 

“ _ Rosie _ ! I will not!”Albus smacked his cousin. “Shut up! Stop freaking me out! I swear, I will take  _ any _ house but Slytherin. Even Hufflepuff!”

 

“So what house are you expecting to be?” Leonora asked Tony.

 

“Well,” he said, quietly, “both my parents were in Slytherin.” 

 

Albus and Rosie immediately stopped their fighting, and an awkward silence descended on the four children. Al looked everywhere but at Tony, while in contrast, Rosie studied him thoughtfully.

 

“That's cool,” she said finally. “Sorry, our family are all Gryffindors, so I was just winding Al up. But I just got gone done telling him I won't  _ really _ care if he's in Slytherin, so we're just joking, really.” 

 

Al nodded solemnly, supporting Rose's words, though he still wouldn't look at Tony.

 

“It's okay,” Tony said. “My family's the same with Gryffindor. I'm half worried my dad would disown me if I were in any house but Slytherin.”

 

“My Dad threatened to do that!” Rosie exclaimed. “Except with Gryffindor. What's  _ with _ parents, anyway? Since when are children not allowed to do their own thing?”

  
“So you want to break off from your family, go into another house?” Tony asked.

 

“Me? Oh, no! I want Gryffindor. I just mean, you know, theoretically. How about you?”

 

Tony shrugged.

 

“You know what?” Leonora suggested. “Let's not talk about this anymore. It seems like everyone but me is worried about this, and we'll all know soon enough.”

 

Just then, the snack cart came to their door.

 

“You know what, Leonora, you're exactly right,” Rose said. “I think it's time to get more sweets than our parents would  _ ever _ let us have, and declare any talk of houses off-limits.” 

 

Everybody agreed, and the rest of the train ride proved to be extremely pleasant.

 

 

 

Rosie, Albus, Leonora, and Tony piled into a boat together to sail across the lake with the other first years, all led by Hagrid. By now all of them felt like good friends, even though really it had only been a few hours (except for Rose and Albus, of course). Rose knew that her father and Uncle Harry had met on the Hogwarts Express and had been best friends ever since. Might that happen with Leonora? Or if he wasn't in Slytherin, with Tony?

 

The four of them were one of the first boats across the lake, along with a boat carrying three students Rose didn't know, and Scorpius Malfoy.

 

“Hi!” Rose greeted them as she climbed out of the boat. “What's with all those slow-pokes, huh?”

 

She looked over at Scorpius and gave him a hesitant smile. She was curious about him, after what her parents had said at the train platform. She found herself mildly surprised when Scorpius smiled back at her, almost shyly.   
  
“Hi, I'm Rose Weasley,” she introduced herself, going to stand next to him. “You're Scorpius, right?”   
  
The boy looked startled. “How did you know that?”   
  
“Oh, Legilimancy,” Rose said casually. “I know all your secrets, actually.”   
  
“Rosie!” Albus protested, elbowing her in the side. “You do not! Our parents pointed you out at Platform 9 ¾,” he told Scorpius, to the boy's visible relief.   
  
Rose burst out laughing, and to her surprise, so did Scorpius.  
  
“That was a pretty good one,” he complimented her as their chuckles subsided.   
  
“Thanks,” Rose said. “Would've been better if Al hadn't ruined it, though.”   
  
Albus seemed unconcerned by Rosie's accusing stare.  
  
The other boats were arriving now, and all the other First Years came onto the shore. Rose was looking at her new classmates, and thus in the direction out over the lake, when she heard a noise behind her: the click of an opening lock behind her and a low creaking. She spun around to see a long, stone flight of stairs, and at the top of those stairs, a huge wooden door was slowly swung open.   
  
A witch was standing in the doorway, but it was hard to see her, as she was silhouetted by the light from the castle shining out from behind her into the dark evening.   
  
Most of the students hesitated, but a few of the students-- Leonora and Albus among them-- immediately began running up the stairs. Once she'd seen Albus on his way up, Rose rushed to follow as well. As they got closer, Rose realized that she was pretty sure she knew the witch standing in the doorway. Yes; this woman had sometimes come to the celebration parties her family threw. Mum had said this woman had taught her favorite subject-- Arithmancy-- at Hogwarts. What was her name again?   
  
The professor waited patiently until all the students were gathered at the top of the stone steps.

 

“Hello, all of you,” she said, “and welcome. My name is Professor Vector--” ( _Yes!_ Rose thought. _That was the name! Vector!)_ “--and as you may remember from your acceptance letters, I'm the Deputy Headmistress. Please, follow me inside.” She held the door wide open, and many students at once were able to pass through.   
  
Rose had been to Hogwarts a couple of times before, as both of her parents went to visit friends who worked there from time to time, but even she found herself in awe of the large, elaborate entrance hall.   
  
She knew the Great Hall was to the right, but Professor Vector took all the first years into a small room to the side. When they were all gathered, she began to speak.   
  
“Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm sure that after your journey, you're all eager to get to the start-of-term feast, but before we can start the banquet, each of you must be sorted into your Houses.”   
  
Of course, Rose knew all of this, and while usually she'd make a point of listening anyway, she was just so excited to finally be a student at Hogwarts! So she found her attention drifting in and out, and caught only bits and pieces of the Deputy Headmistress's speech.   
  
“Sorting will take place in front of the entire school... Your houses will be like your family during your seven years at this school; you will sleep in the same dormitories as your house mates, eat at the same tables... While in recent years we have been trying to stress inter-house unity, and absolutely encourage friendships between students from different houses, most Hogwarts students find that most of their closest friends are from the same house...”  
  
Finally, she told them that it was almost time for the Sorting Ceremony, and for everyone to prepare themselves to sit in front of the entire school for the ceremony.   
  
“I'll return momentarily, and then we can begin,” she told the students.   
  
Everyone waited around nervously. Albus bit his fingernails raw and looked like he was going to be sick. Before long, Professor Vector returned, and led them into the Great Hall.   
  
Again, despite having seen it before, Rose was overwhelmed. She could see the stars above her so clearly; her family lived in a suburban neighborhood, so usually the ambient light made it difficult to see so many stars. She had to force herself to look back down so she could see where she was going, as the other students whispered to each other. She was content to just soak it all in.   
  
When they were at the front of the Hall, near the Professors' Table, Professor Vector motioned for the students to stop. She then placed a stool in front of them, and put a very old, frayed hat on top of the stool.   
  
Rose stared at the thing. She'd heard mentions of the Sorting Hat, but she'd never imagined it looking like _that._ It was so old and frayed, and dirty too. Why didn't they at least wash the thing?   
  
She was startled when a rip near the rim opened and the hat began to sing.   
  
__  
I bet you never thought a hat  
could point you towards your fate  
but I know where to put you  
to truly make you great  
  
In times of deadly war and strife  
this brim was nearly shut forever  
but your mothers and your fathers  
had success in their endeavor  
  
So listen close, for we discovered  
your strength comes from your friends  
(though even with your enemies  
you can learn to make amends)  
  
Perhaps those friends to help you  
you'll find in Hufflepuff  
where of loyalty, hard work, and warmth  
you will always find enough.  
  
Or maybe it's in Gryffindor  
you'll find your family true  
the brave, the bold, the unafraid  
will always stand up for you.  
  
In Slytherin, ambition rules,  
but these folks surely know  
that with partners come those cunning plans  
that help their power grow.  
  
And in Ravenclaw, with those quick minds  
they've learned, as those brains run,  
that as they study and they live

_two heads are better than one._  
  
I can put you where you'll truly fit  
and I will do just that  
so come on up, don't be afraid,  
put on the Sorting Hat!

 

Everyone second year and above burst into applause at the song. A few of the first years managed a few weak claps, but that was about it.   
  


Compared to how Albus trembled beside her, Rose seemed almost calm as she stood and watched the students get sorted, one by one. There was lots of time for suspense to build, as she knew she'd be one of the last called, but she mostly managed to contain her nerves.

 

Luckily for Albus, with the last name of Potter instead of Weasley, he was called much sooner. The poor boy looked like he was going to throw up, and Rose squeezed his arm reassuringly before he went to the stool and placed the large hat on his head.

 

There was a minute of deliberation before the hat finally yelled, “GRYFFINDOR!” Albus, of course, was visibly relieved as he went to join the Gryffindor table, to the congratulations of his older brother and cousins.   
  
It was harder to be serene without her cousin waiting next to her, and Rose began fidgeting impatiently as she waited for her turn to be Sorted. Leonora Thomas was sorted into Gryffindor as well. Eventually there were only three students left: Rose, Tony, and a large boy Rose didn't know.  
  
“Clarence Warrington!” Professor Vector called, and he became a Slytherin.   
  
Now it was her turn.   
  
“Rose Weasley!”

 

Rose drew in her breath and made her way to the front of the Hall, sat on the stool, and allowed the hat to be lowered onto her head.   
  
“Ah, another Weasley,” Rose heard a little voice in her ear say.  
  
 _Get used to it,_ Rose advised the hat. _There are plenty more coming.  
  
_ “Quite a remarkable brain in this head, oh yes,” said the voice.   
  
_Because I know I have cousins?_ Rose wondered, sarcastically.  
  
“And an enjoyment of learning as well. Though, hmm, not a lot of desire for hard work, not when you can avoid it... bravery, yes, you have that, yet there's a strong sense of ambition, cunning, falling just short of ruthlessness...”  
  
 _Um, what?_ Sorting was not going how Rose had expected. _You don't mean...  
  
_ “Yes, I think I know where you belong. Better be... SLYTHERIN!”   
  
The last word had been yelled out loud, and Rose thought she heard it echoing off the walls of the Great Hall.  
  
Which was suddenly very quiet.  
  
Rose removed the hat shakily. __Did that just happen? she asked herself silently. A look at the faces of the other students told her that yes, it had indeed happened.   
  
Rose Weasley was a Slytherin.   
  


 

 

  
  


 

 


	2. Friends and Enemies

Chapter 2: Friends and Enemies  
  
-  
  
The Great Hall was silent for several moments, as Rose slowly stood up from the stool.   
  
A student started clapping, and to Rose's surprise it came from the Gryffindor table. He eyes sought out the source: Dominique was applauding as loudly as she could. All the boys, clustered around her, started clapping vigorously too, anxious to please the gorgeous girl.   
  
Rose smiled at her cousin gratefully, and the rest of the school began to clap as well, though perhaps not quite as loudly as for most of the other first years. Slytherin started cheering extra loudly, probably to make up for the fact that they'd been too stunned to start the applause themselves.   
  
She approached the Slytherin table nervously, only slightly bolstered by their loud clapping. She wasn't sure where to sit; her eyes darted from student to student as she searched for a friendly face. Nobody looked hostile, but she didn't know anybody at all, and she'd been expecting to join a Gryffindor table filled with cousins she'd known her whole life right now.   
  
“SLYTHERIN!” The hat yelled again, causing Rose to jump.  
  
That quickly? Rose turned to see Tony hopping down from the stool, and she almost collapsed with relief. She'd been too wrapped up in her own shock to hear his name being called. Apparently Tony saw how awkwardly she was standing there, and he ran to catch up so that they could find somewhere to sit together.   
  
“C'mon, let's sit with my brother,” Tony said easily, and led Rose partway down the table. At that moment she was filled with gratitude at the gesture, so small but so vitally important.   
  
“Well, well, little brother, welcome to Slytherin!” the older boy greeted heartily as Tony and Rose sat down across from him. “And welcome to you, too. Rose, was it?”   
  
“Yes,” Rose said quietly, before she began to fill her plate with all the delicious-looking food in front of her. “I'm Rose.”   
  
Though she tended to think of herself as Rose or Rosie pretty interchangeably, she usually introduced herself as “Rosie.” Or something like, “Rose, but my friends call me Rosie.” If she'd been at the Gryffindor table, that's probably what she'd have done. (Actually, if she were at the Gryffindor table, probably one of her cousins would have introduced her to everyone before she had the chance. In that case it would definitely have been “Rosie.”)  
  
But something about  _ Rosie _ didn't seem very... Slytherin. She wasn't quite sure why, but now that she was officially a Slytherin, she felt much more like a Rose.   
  
“Cheer up, Rose,” the boy said. “We don't bite!”   
  
Rose managed a small smile. She tried not to notice how her crazy, unmanageable mane of bright red curls at the Slytherin table stood out like a Muggle neon sign in the middle of a forest.   
  
“So what's your name?” she asked. “Aren't you purebloods supposed to be all about decorum? For shame, Tony, skipping that introduction.”   
  
“For shame, indeed,” his older brother agreed. “I'm Claude. Zabini, of course. I'm sure you figured that out.”  
  
“Yes,” Rose said. “I'm sure you've figured out my last name, too.”   
  
“I might have noticed it during Sorting,” Claude admitted. “So Dominique's your cousin, right?”   
  
“Right. And Victoire and Molly and James. Now Albus too, he's a first year like me. So are you in third year then?”   
  
“No, I'm a fourth year.”  
  
This whole time, Rose had been savoring the delicious food of the feast: beef, pork, Yorkshire pudding, the softest, most delicious bread she had ever tasted, chips with gravy... her mother was not exactly the best cook, so Rose wasn't used to getting food this good every day. Of course, whenever they went to the Burrow she had her Grandma's amazing home cooking. Also, Rose's family usually went to dinner at the Potters' several times a week, and Grandma had taught Aunt Ginny pretty well how to cook. Rose got the feeling sometimes that Aunt Ginny didn't really like to cook any more than Mum did, but she'd been trained so well that she came out with good food anyway.   
  
Still, the Hogwarts feast was certainly a treat, and there was so much of everything! She knew her Mum would be scandalized by how few of the vegetables she was eating, but it was the first day. Besides, Rose needed some comfort food as well as celebration, after her unexpected Sorting.   
  
“We've got a cousin here too,” Tony told her, pointing to a tall boy sitting at the end of the table. “Franco Zabini.”   
  
Rose nodded, not sure what else to say about that.   
  
Claude started talking to his older friends, and Rose looked around at who else they were sitting near. On her left was Tony, of course, but she realized to her right were two girls that she was pretty sure were fellow first years. They were busily in animated conversation with each other, but when there seemed to be a pause, Rose ventured a tentative, “Hi?”  
  
Both girls turned to look at her.  
  
“Hi!” said the one closer to her.   
  
“You're both first years, too, right?” Rose asked.   
  
Both of them nodded.   
  
“I'm Rose Weasley,” she introduced herself.   
  
“I'm Peony Greengrass,” the one closer to her said, “and this is my friend Aurelia Flint.”   
  
Peony had dark blue eyes that contrasted nicely with her black, loosely curling hair. She had a flat, almost squashed-looking nose that by sheer luck complemented the rest of her face perfectly. Something about the the girl suggested that she had just narrowly avoided being ugly, but all those features that might have been unpleasant came together to create striking, if unusual, beauty. It was hard to tell height, as they were all sitting down, but Peony _ seemed  _ petite, with very delicate bone structure and thin limbs.   
  
Aurelia was much more ordinary looking. She had straight hair, which was in that limbo between dark blonde and light brown, and her eyes were brown. Most people would probably call her pretty, but not beautiful.   
  
While everyone was required to wear black robes as part of their Hogwarts uniform, both girls were dressed in robes that gorgeous and clearly very expensive.   
  
“Nice to meet you,” Rose said politely.  
  
“You too. So... your family's not usually in Slytherin, are they?” asked Peony, tossing a few dark curls over her shoulder.   
  
(Rose wished her curls were toss-able like that. The closest her unruly coils came was bouncing when she skipped, or shook her head. It was especially a shame because their colour was such a vibrant, fiery red that they were her most noticeable, and arguably her best, feature. The only thing that came close was her light, creamy skin, which miraculously lacked the usual signature Weasley freckles so long as she didn't stay in the sunlight for too long.)  
  
“No,” Rose confirmed. “Though don't you think it's a little weird that everybody knows that?”   
  
Peony shrugged. “Well, after the war, the Weasleys are kind of famous,” she said.   
  
“And famously Gryffindor,” Aurelia added.   
  
“How about your families?” Rose asked.   
  
“Both of my parents were Slytherin, and same with Peony's,” Aurelia told her.   
  
“Do either of you have siblings or cousins at Hogwarts right now?”  
  
Aurelia and Peony looked at each other.   
  
“Well, I have an older sister, Philippa,” Aurelia said, “and a cousin, Jason Vaisey. They're both in Slytherin.”   
  
“I don't have any older siblings,” Peony told Rose. “I have a younger brother and a younger sister, but neither will be at Hogwarts for a few more years. But I have a few cousins... Alphard Bole, he's a third year, and Minta Bole, fifth year. They're both Slytherin as well. And actually, Scorpius Malfoy is my cousin too, but...” She giggled. “Our families don't see each other much, so I don't know him very well.”   
  
“Why don't your families see each other?” Rose asked, curious about the amusement in Peony's voice. “Do they not get along or something?”   
  
“Something like that.” Peony giggled again. “See, my Mum dated his Dad almost their entire time at Hogwarts. Everyone figured the two of them would get married. But instead, my mother married my father, and his father married my father's sister.”  
  
“Wow... yes, I can see how that would be very awkward,” Rose agreed. “So neither of you have any family in any other houses?”  
  
“I'm sure I've got second or third cousins or something,” Peony said. “But nobody I know of. So you're really striking out on your own, aren't you?”  
  
“I guess I am. I should go to the library, look up the last time a Weasley has been in Slytherin. I bet it's been at least a hundred years.”   
  
Rose was glad she was having a conversation, but she decided she'd like to change it to something that didn't draw attention to the fact that she was different. “So, do either of you like quidditch?”   
  
Aurelia wrinkled her nose. “I'm fine with watching it, but I hate to play. Peony likes it though.”   
  
“Really?” Rose asked Peony. “What position?”   
  
“Chaser,” Peony said confidently. “I like scoring the goals. It feels the most like I'm really part of the game. How about you, do you like quidditch?”   
  
“Love it,” Rose answered. “I like playing beater. You get to whack balls as hard as you want at people, and people barely  _ ever _ blame you if your team loses or gets a really bad score. Of course, you don't as much of the glory if your team wins, but you get to beat up on people and not worry too much.” Rose paused for a moment as she considered what she'd just said. “Well, that didn't sound very Slytherin of me, did it?” 

 

Peony just laughed and said, “You'd be surprised. Some of that was  _ extremely _ Slytherin. So, who's your team?”   
  
Rose and Peony kept up a lively conversation about Quidditch through a lot of the meal, with Tony joining in as well. It turned out Claude was on the team, as Keeper, so he started talking to them again. No matter what differences there might be in their families' values and traditions, Rose thought, at least they all had Quidditch in common.   
  
Well, all of them except Aurelia, anyway. In fact, the girl looked a little put out that the rest of them kept on a topic when she didn't have much to contribute. She didn't seem like she appreciated being left out of their discussion, but Rose didn't notice. Her mind was too focused not only on the subject of Quidditch, but also on keeping herself a part of things. Rose had expected to have a niche ready-made for her at Hogwarts, and she was frightened of finding herself isolated. She was much too happy about being in the middle of a lively discussion to pay attention to much else.   
  
She was so stuffed that when pudding appeared on the table, she wasn't sure she could eat it. She managed one small bite of everything, and then she collapsed in her seat.   
  
“A little full there, Rose?” Peony asked with a giggle.   
  
“My Mum's cooking isn't nearly so good,” Rose explained. “This was so delicious.”   
  
“Oh, okay. My family has house elves to cook for us, same as Hogwarts, so the food's pretty good.”   
  
“Oh,” said Rose.   
  
“We have to pay them now, of course, with the new laws,” Peony continued.   
  
“Yeah,” Rose agreed, uncomfortably.   
  
Peony could tell that the other girl was feeling awkward, but she wasn't sure why. “What's wrong?” she asked, concerned.   
  
“Just... well, nothing. It's... how does your family feel about the house elf laws?”   
  
Peony shrugged. “I guess my parents think they're kind of silly, since house elves don't really want to be free anyway. But the wages are so low that it doesn't really matter. Why?”   


_ Maybe I shouldn't say anything, _ Rose thought.  _ Slytherins keep secrets all the time, right? No need to rock the boat.   
  
_ But just because she was in Slytherin didn't mean that she should change her personality to suit what she thought the House was about. Apparently the Sorting Hat thought this was where she belonged, so her personality was  _ already  _ Slytherin. And part of Rose's personality was that she did _ not _ want to act as though her family were something to be ashamed of.   
  
“It was my mum who made the house elf laws,” Rose explained, timidly. “Or at least, wrote them and lobbied for them and things like that. She's really into house elf rights.”   
  
“Oh, I didn't know that,” Peony said. “Well, it looks like the meal's over and people are getting up. Should we head down to the Slytherin dungeons?”   
  
“Sure,” Rose agreed, relieved that her new friend hadn't seemed upset at the revelation about her Mum and house elves. She hadn't seemed to care at all! Maybe this whole Slytherin thing would work out okay after all.   
  
Students were starting to rise from their seats, and the first years in particular hurried to follow the prefects who would show them to their common rooms. As Peony stood, Rose saw that the girl wasn't quite as short as she seemed to be, but she was still a good four inches shorter than Rose, who had always been tall for her age.   
  
Rose cast one slightly wistful glance across the Great Hall, where the Gryffindors, including Albus and her other cousins, were heading in the opposite direction. Al's back was to her, and he was talking to some student Rose didn't know. She told herself that it didn't mean anything; for all she knew he'd looked over at her some time she was turned away, too. But even though it was illogical, it still stung a little.   
  
She turned back to her housemates quickly, and nobody seemed to have noticed her distraction, though she had to jog a couple steps to catch up with Peony, Aurelia and Tony.   
  
It was dark as the Slytherins descended the stone stairwell; not so dark that Rose couldn't see at all, of course, but enough that she wasn't entirely sure of her footing.   
  
“I hope none of these stairs are the kind that disappear or make you sink or something,” Rose murmured to Peony and Tony.   
  
“I don't think so,” Peony said. “My parents never mentioned it, anyway. I think the parts of the castle sort of mirror the personality of the Houses, so it's mostly areas near Gryffindor that it does mischievous things.”   
  
“Really?” Rose asked, surprised.   
  
“I'm not sure or anything.” Peony shrugged. “It's just a theory.”   
  
“It's an interesting one,” Rose mused, already wondering if she could find a book in the library that could verify that. “ _ Hogwarts: A History _ never said anything about that, but my Mum says it leaves a lot of stuff out.”   
  
None of the steps did anything unexpected, but Rose was still relieved when they got to the bottom. The corridors here were better lit, and it was warmer and less damp than Rose had expected the dungeons to be. They followed the prefects through several twists and turns.   
  
“This is kind of confusing, I hope I'll remember the way,” an anxious voice said. Rose looked over to see a girl she hadn't met yet, though obviously she must be a first year. She had blonde hair and was short and chubby.   
  
“After a couple of times it'll be easy,” Rose said reassuringly, “and I'm sure we're all going to stick together for the first few days, searching for classes and all of that.”   
  
“I hope so,” said the girl.   
  
“What's your name?” Rose asked.  
  
“Morgana,” the girl said. “Morgana Knight. And you?”   
  
“Rose Weasley. It's nice to meet you.”   
  
Morgana nodded. “You too.”  
  
Suddenly, the prefects and the other students in higher years stopped. Rose and the other first years were startled, and almost bumped into them.   
  
“This is the entrance to our common room,” one of the prefects announced.   
  
“This?” Rose was surprised. She knew the Gryffindors entered their common room through a portrait that swung open like a door. This was just a patch of wall, with seemingly no indications that it was anything else.   
  
  
“The password is 'Schlange.'”   
  
When the prefect spoke the word, the wall opened, and everyone piled through the hidden doorway.   
  
“But keep in mind,” the other prefect called after the students as they entered, “that the password will change every few weeks, so pay attention!”   
  
The common room was long and low; the lamps overhead tinted the room green, which mingled with a bright yellow glow from the brightly crackling fire on one wall. Rose decided that she liked it.   
  
“All the dormitories are down that way,” said a prefect, pointing to the hall opposite the fireplace. “Boys' dorms to the left, girls' to the right. Which year is carved into the doors, so you shouldn't have any trouble figuring out where to go.”   
  
Rose glanced over at Peony and Aurelia, then turned around to see Morgana behind her. She shrugged, bid good night to Tony, and headed off with the other girls in the direction they'd been told. It wasn't long before they came upon a door with an elaborately carved “1” that covered most of the top half of the door.  
  
Peony pushed it open, and the girls filed into their new bedroom. There were six large canopy beds, arranged in a circle, with the feet of the beds facing inwards and the head facing out. The beds had green velvet draped down along the sides, and each poster had matching ties, so that the cloth could be pulled aside when the girls were feeling social, and could be pulled down to offer at least a little privacy. Just beyond the head of each bed were dark wooden wardrobes, with space up top to hang clothes and drawers underneath.   
  
Six beds, Rose thought; so there were two more Slytherin first-year girls she hadn't yet met. There were also six trunks piled in the middle of the room, presumably so that the girls could choose their own beds.   
  
She looked up and saw to her surprise that the other two girls had entered while Rose had been inspecting the room. One of them was a tall, big-boned girl, with brown hair, who despite her large stature was standing rather timidly in the corner; the other girl had bright blonde hair coupled with brown eyes, and she didn't seem shy at all.   
  
“Hi, I'm Liatris Bell,” she announced to the room, and everybody else followed her cue and introduced themselves. The tall, shy girl turned out to be Marion Goyle.   
  
“Well, I guess we should pick beds,” Liatris suggested.   
  
“Good idea,” Peony agreed, “I'm so tired.”   
  
Everyone found their trunks, and Rose looked around at the beds, unsure of where to go. Then she saw Peony smiling at her and beckoning; Aurelia was taking the bed to Peony's left, and it was clear that Rose was invited to take the bed to her right. She did so gladly, happy to be wanted.   
  
After dragging her trunk to the other side of her bed, near the wardrobe, Rose looked over to see who took the bed to her other side. It was Liatris, who stood by her own wardrobe.   
  
“I think I'm going to wait until morning to unpack everything,” Rose remarked to Liatris.   
  
“Yes, it has been a very exhausting day, hasn't it?” Liatris agreed brightly, not sounding very exhausted at all.   
  
Rose agreed fervently as she opened her trunk and rummaged through for her pajamas.   
  
“But we should still take some time to get to know each other,” Liatris continued. “I was mostly talking with second and third years, so I don't really know anyone here yet.”   
  
Rose found her pajamas and stood up. She looked over at Liatris.   
  
“Okay,” she said. “I'm just going to take a shower first.”   
  
Once everyone was washed up and in their sleep clothes, all the girls gathered together. Peony, Aurelia, and Morgana sat on Peony's bed, while Rose, Liatris and Marion sat on Rose's, so that all of the girls could face each other.   
  
Liatris sat cross-legged next to Rose, and shot her an enigmatic smile. So close to the girl, Rose noticed that her eyes were quite captivating. They were friendly, but also delightedly secretive, seeming to shine with secrets that she would never, ever tell.   
  
Rose decided that she liked Liatris.   
  
“So,” Liatris said, “you seem to have been the big surprise reveal tonight, Rose.”   
  
Rose blushed a little. “Yeah, yeah, I'm a Weasley, we're not usually Slytherins, so on, so forth,” she said. “How about the rest of you? Anyone else expecting a different house?”   
  
“I was expecting... Hufflepuff,” Morgana Knight admitted, looking embarrassed. “Both of my parents were there.”   
  
“Congratulations,” Aurelia told Morgana. “You've taken a definite step up.”   
  
It was genuinely meant to be a compliment, but it was clear Morgana didn't know whether to feel flattered or insulted. Rose, similarly, was somewhat uncomfortable with this comment.   
  
“I don't know,” she said. “Slytherin will be awesome-- I'm going to make sure of it-- but the hat definitely talked about how I avoid hard work. I could never do the things Hufflepuffs do, I'm too lazy.”   
  
Morgana flashed Rose a quick, grateful smile. Aurelia just rolled her eyes.   
  
“Well, I knew I was going to be a Slytherin,” she said. “Both my parents were, and their parents too, going back generations. Peony, too. We knew we'd be house mates.” Aurelia smiled at her friend.   
  
“I wasn't sure if I'd be here or Ravenclaw,” Marion said. “My mum was in Ravenclaw, and my dad was here. She was so angry she had to be married to him, she says that a pile of bricks is smarter than he is.”  
  
“Then why are they together?” Rose asked, confused.   
  
“It was an arranged marriage,” Marion explained. “They'd been betrothed since they were a year old. Mum kept hoping she'd get out of it-- Dad was always at the bottom of his class and she was always in the top three of her year-- but my grandparents insisted.”   
  
“But that's awful! Why did she agree?” Rose persisted.   
  
Marion shrugged. “It's normal among noble pure-blood families,” she said. “And my Mum didn't want to be disowned.”   
  
“My parents had an arranged marriage too,” Aurelia said. “Though both of them are pretty stupid people if you ask me. Neither seems to care either way, I think they were just as happy not to have to find someone themselves.”   
  
Rose shook her head, amazed. “I can't imagine that at all,” she said. “My parents are kind of sickening, they love each other so much. They're always kissing and stuff in front of me, and when I ask them to try to do that in private, they just laugh at me.”   
  
“Your parents kiss in front of you?” Peony was amazed. “I mean, my parents were a love match, they chose each other, but they would never display affection in public. Even in front of their kids.”   
  
“Your parents can't be worse than mine that way,” Liatris assured Rose. “I'm pretty sure my parents... well... it's not just kissing, and it's not just with each other.”   
  
Rose was confused, but the other girls in the room seemed more thoughtful than bewildered.   
  
“You mean they're unfaithful?” asked Morgana, slowly. “Or do you mean...”

 

“No, I mean that... well, I don't think they're  _ breaking _ any oaths.” Liatris scrunched her face. “I think they've made some extra.”  
  
“You mean parents are members of Conversio Virium*?” Marion asked, leaning forward, eyes bright.

  
“Well, they've never confirmed it to me,” Liatris said, “but I'm pretty sure.”

 

“Wait, they're in what? What are you talking about?” asked Rose. “I think I'm missing something here.”  
  
“Yes, you are.” Liatris inclined her head at Rose, with a bright expression on her face. “Be glad. Be very, very glad.”   
  
“What about you, Morgana?” Peony asked, as Rose shot Liatris a confused look but decided not to ask further.   
  
“Er, my parents are divorced, actually,” Morgana said.   
  
“So much for Hufflepuff loyalty,” Aurelia joked. “They can't even manage to keep to those lame virtues.”   
  
Morgana flinched, and Rose got to her feet angrily.   
  
“You stop that!” she said sharply. “Don't be such a snob.”   
  
“And don't you be such a goody two shoes,” Aurelia shot back. “We're in Slytherin, there's nothing wrong with some Slytherin pride.”   
  
“There's House pride and there's being a bitch,” Rose said.   
  
Aurelia stared back, shocked.   
  
“Did you hear what she called me!” Aurelia shrieked. “Peony--”  
  
“Actually, I think you kind of deserved it,” Peony said quietly.  
  
Aurelia stared at her in shock.  
  
“And I think you should apologize to Morgana,” Peony continued.   
  
“It's okay,” Morgana said in a small voice, clearly not liking to be in the center of a conflict. “I don't want an apology. I'm just going to go to bed.”   
  
She stood up from Peony's bed and fled across the room, pulling the velvet drapes down around her bed.   
  
Rose wanted to go after Morgana, to make her feel better, but she didn't know what to say. Plus she got the feeling that the girl really would rather be alone.  
  
“Maybe all of us should be going to bed,” Peony said, looking suddenly uncomfortable with Aurelia sitting next to her. This was not lost on the other girl.   
  
“Fine,” Aurelia snapped, standing up. “Abandon your best friend just because she makes a joke. That's great, Peony.” She flounced off to her bed, and pulled drapes down so hard that they'd probably have ripped, had they not been reinforced with magic.   
  
“Sorry about that,” Peony said quietly.   
  
“Absolutely not your fault,” Liatris said. Rose nodded in agreement.   
  
“I really am extremely tired,” Marion said. “I'll see all of you in the morning. Hopefully nobody will hold any grudges.”   
  
Once Marion was gone, Peony, Liatris, and Rose sat there for a few minutes, looking at each other.   
  
“And the night was going so well,” Rose said with a sigh. “Should I have kept my mouth shut? Slytherin or not, I guess I definitely have the Weasley temper.”   
  
“Are you kidding?” Liatris asked. “She deserved it. And Morgana deserved to have someone stand up for her. You did exactly the right thing.”  
  
“I hate to admit it, but Aurelia was out of line,” Peony agreed. “I'm sure she was just exhausted from the train ride and Sorting, and kind of off-balance with this being her first night at Hogwarts and everything. She's usually a really nice girl.”   
  
“I'll believe that when I see it,” Liatris muttered.   
  
“You will,” Peony said confidently. “Just wait until she's gotten some rest and adjusted a little.”  
  
Liatris looked disbelieving, and Rose couldn't help but agree with her. Still, despite the way the night had ended, it wasn't all bad. Liatris leaned over and hugged Rose good night tightly.   
  
“We're going to be good friends,” she told Rose. Her eyes flicked towards Peony. “You too. The three of us. I can tell.”   
  
Rose smiled. “I was thinking that too.”   
  
Then Liatris headed to her own bed, and Rose began pulling on the ties to bring down her curtains.   
  
“Hey, Rose?” Peony whispered.   
  
“Yeah?” Rose paused, leaving a space in the curtains to see Peony.   
  
“You really aren't holding Aurelia against me?”   
  
“Of course not!” Rose said, shocked. “You didn't do anything wrong.”   
  
Peony smiled. “I'm glad,” she said. “Because I think Liatris is right..”   
  
So, as Rose finished pulling the curtains around her and let her head fall to the pillow, she reflected that even if she'd made an enemy her first day in Slytherin, she'd made _ three  _ friends. Those, she thought to herself contentedly as she drifted off to sleep, were pretty good numbers.   
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I got the name for this organization from Columbia's BDSM club. It means “Exchange of Power.”


	3. New Things

Title: But I'm a Weasley!  
Author: Anisky

For the full disclaimer, see Chapter 1.

-  
-

Chapter 3: New Things

-

 

September 1st had fallen on a Friday that year, so they had the weekend to get situated. Rose had been hoping for a chance to visit Al and her other cousins, but the first years seemed expected to use the weekend to bond with their house mates, and she didn't really have a chance to get away. 

She also spent the whole weekend dreading an owl-- or a Howler-- from her parents, though she knew that it would take several days to arrive. On Monday, though owls swooped down to deliver letters or packages to some of the students, Rose still received nothing. She was getting very nervous, and had about decided that the suspense was bad enough that she just wished to just get it over with. 

After breakfast, the Slytherin head of house, Professor Sinistra, handed Rose and her year mates their class schedule and told them to get to class. 

This was nowhere near as easy as it sounded. Over the weekend, it was true, Professor Sinistra had taken the opportunity to give them a tour of of the castle. Apparently she considered that all the guidance they would need to find their classrooms. 

Rose stuck close to her house mates as they tried desperately to navigate the castle. Staircases moved, corridors decided to rearrange themselves, and Peeves tried to trick them. What Rose couldn't understand was how the older students had managed to eventually learn their way around if the castle changed all the time. 

Their first class was double Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws, taught by Professor Bradley. Rose didn't know anything about him, but she worried that she'd be expected to already be an expert on the subject, her parents both working in the Department of Law Enforcement (among other reasons). 

Professor Bradley barely acknowledged Rose, though. Even when she raised her hand, he rarely called on her. It was a bit frustrating, but her parents had both said that he was a good Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, so she'd give him the benefit of the doubt. 

History of Magic, which they had with the Hufflepuffs, was apparently still taught by Professor Binns. He was every bit as boring as her dad and uncle had described. Dad and Uncle Harry still joked about how Mum would insist on staying awake and keeping meticulous notes, and tried to get the boys to do the same. 

Far from disheartened to discover that the ghost was still their professor, Rose was quite pleased, indeed. 

It had been almost a year ago when she had come up with the idea, though really it had been inevitable. The pieces of the puzzle just connected so perfectly:

Her Mum had taken detailed notes of a class whose material, at least for the first five or six years of school, was highly unlikely to change. 

Her Mum had also kept all of her notes from Hogwarts, and kept them in her files, “just in case” there was something she needed to look up. 

It was just a simple logical progression, the conclusion so clear it might as well have been tap dancing on Rose's nose. A quick search through her mother's files, a few weeks with her new wand practicing a duplication charm, and voila: Six years' worth of History of Magic notes, ready to go.

She didn't think of it as cheating, though she knew Mum probably would if she found out. She'd read the notes and memorize the information on her own time, so she'd learn everything she was meant to. In the meantime, she could feel free to fall asleep at her desk or pass notes to her friends or whatever else she wanted. 

Things took an even better turn when Professor Binns neglected to take attendance. He seemed to have no interest whatsoever in learning their names or otherwise knowing who was in his class. Rose made a mental note to ask James or Dominique whether Binns would occasionally remember to read a role call. If not, it looked like she might just have a totally free period, three times a week.

The last class of the day was Potions, and this one was a double with Gryffindor. Rose couldn't wait; she hadn't seen Al at all since they'd gotten to Hogwarts, except across the Great Hall or passing in the corridors too quickly to do more than say a quick 'Hi.' She wished that she could just go over to the Gryffindor table to talk to him, but the last thing she needed in her first few days was to alienate her house mates. Maybe later on, when she knew everybody better. 

The Potions classroom was in the dungeons, near the Slytherin common room, so Rose and her companions found it much more easily than Defence and History of Magic. In fact, not a single Gryffindor was in the room when the Slytherins filed in. 

“Hi, Aunt Daphne!” Peony said brightly as she came through the door, with a little wave. “This is my friend Rose. Rose, this is--”

“Miss Greengrass,” the Professor interrupted sternly, emphasizing the formal address. “We've discussed this.” Then she smiled pleasantly and turned to Rose. “Welcome to Potions class, Miss...?” 

“Weasley,” Rose supplied. “Rose Weasley.” 

“Of course. How could I have forgotten.” She didn't say it meanly; her tone gave no clue whatever about her thoughts. The professor turned back to Peony. “We've been over this, and you know the rules. In the classroom, I'm not your aunt, I'm Professor Bole. You will treat me as a professor, as I will treat you as a student.” 

“Right.” Peony nodded emphatically. “Sorry, I forgot.” 

“You promised three times.” Professor Bole had her arms crossed, but she didn't seem truly angry. 

“I'm sorry!” Peony said again, with a pout. “It's just hard to get used to.” 

“If you think it's strange for you, imagine how Alphard and Minta feel.” 

Peony and Rose looked at each other, and gave a little shudder before they slid into seats at the front. The Gryffindors were finally beginning to straggle in, under Professor Bole's disapproving eye, though there was a still minute left before they'd be considered late. 

“You know, I hadn't thought how weird it must be for Alphy and Minta,” Peony said. 

“Imagine if your mother taught at Hogwarts,” Rose said. 

“Ugh.” Peony pretended to gag. “I'd kill myself.” 

Rose didn't think it would be quite as bad as all that, but--

Her reply was aborted as Rose saw Albus enter the classroom. “Sorry, be right back,” she said quickly to Peony before jumping out of her seat and running over to him. 

“Al!” Rose exclaimed, grasping his hands happily. “I haven't seen you at all! How's life in Gryffindor? How was your morning? What classes did you have?” 

He looked just as happy to her. “Gryffindor's just like James described, surprisingly enough. We--”

“Mr Potter,” Professor Bole said sharply. “It seems you haven't noticed that it's time for class. Take a seat immediately.” 

Albus and Rose looked up at the professor in surprise. Why had she scolded Al, while saying nothing to Rose? There were several Slytherins still standing as well. 

“Yes, ma'am,” Al said politely. He tugged on Rose's hand, and said to her, “let's find seats.” 

“Oh.” Rose pulled her hand away, feeling embarrassed and guilty. She should have thought this through better. “I'm kind of already sitting next to Peony.” She slid back into the front-row seat she'd taken before her cousin had entered. 

“Oh,” Al said, as Rose cursed herself. She'd been looking forward to Potions so that she could see Al, and she hadn't even considered that they'd want to sit together? But she couldn't just abandon Peony after they'd already chosen seats. 

“Did I tell you to make more conversation, or did I tell you to sit down, Mr Potter?” Professor Bole asked acidly. 

He looked like he wanted to argue-- Rose wanted to argue too, to be completely honest. She was being favoured, and it made her angry more than anything. She could only imagine being on Al's end. 

But he just said, “Sorry, ma'am,” again, and sat down near the back, next to a fellow Gryffindor. 

Rose looked back at her cousin several times throughout the class, but he wasn't looking at her. It was hard to concentrate on the lesson, but it didn't matter, because she already knew all the material from reading the textbook. It was the first day, so they weren't brewing anything. 

She tried to talk to Albus after class was over, but he and his housemates rushed out of the class as soon as it was finished. She couldn't blame him; Professor Bole had not exactly been friendly towards the Gryffindors. Rose had no idea whether Al was avoiding her, or just trying to get away from the unpleasant class. 

She was about to rush after him, when she heard Peony call, “Hey, Rose, wait up!” 

She paused and bit her lip, unsure of what to do. She hesitated too long, though, and her choice was made up as Peony and Aurelia joined her. 

“Bye, er, Professor Bole,” Peony said. 

“Goodbye, girls,” the professor said. “Miss Greengrass, you and your friends should join me for tea this weekend. Why don't I owl you?” 

“Sounds good,” Peony grinned. By now Liatris had joined them as well, and the four girls left together. 

“So what was that about with Professor Bole?” Rose asked as they headed back to the Common Room; Potions had been their last class of the day. 

“What, with the tea? I told you she's my--”

“No, not that,” Rose interrupted. “I mean the way she was during class. Especially at the beginning, with Albus.” 

“Oh. Well, she's nice in normal life,” Peony said, “but she's pretty strict as a professor. You saw how she insisted I call her 'Professor Bole' and all that.” 

“Well, yes,” Rose said, “but did you see how, when Albus and I were talking, she yelled at him but didn't say a word to me?” 

“She wasn't yelling at him,” Peony said. “And you'd already chosen a seat, and got up to see your cousin, so--”

“Exactly,” Rose cut in again. “I went to see him, and he's the one who she yells at... or is stern with, whatever.” 

“Are you actually complaining because she was being nice to you?” Aurelia asked scornfully. 

“That's not quite what I'm-- well, actually, yes. I am. I don't like it when a professor plays favorites. Especially at my cousin's expense.” 

Peony shrugged, then said, “Fine. I guess she's kind of nicer to the Slytherins. But we deserve it! Other teachers treat us worse. They play favorites the other way.” 

“I guess I'm more surprised that she'd favor me. Being, you know, a Weasley and everything. She must have been at school with some of my uncles, or even my parents. If she's so pro-Slytherin, I'm sure they didn't get along.” 

“Rose,” Liatris spoke up. “You aren't your parents, or your uncles, or your cousins. Family and House may usually go together, but this time they didn't. You are a Slytherin.” 

“I know that,” Rose insisted. 

Liatris shook her head. “Then why do you act like you think you're some kind of imposter or something?” 

Aurelia muttered something to Peony that the others couldn't hear. In return she received a dirty look and Peony's elbow shoved hard into her side. 

“Bloody hell, Peony!” Aurelia cried, loudly. “That hurt!” 

“It was supposed to.” 

Aurelia drew herself up indignantly, but before she could say anything, an older Slytherin came up to them. 

“Stop that,” he hissed. “There are other Houses around. Fight all you want in the privacy of your dorm or the Slytherin Common Room, but don't air your dirty laundry in public.” The boy jerked his head at the Gryffindors who were passing them in the hallway. “Got it?” 

The four girls nodded mutely. 

“Good.” He continued in the direction of the Slytherin dungeons. Aurelia looked deflated and frustrated. Rose and the others stood uncertainly for a moment, then silently they made their way quickly in the same direction. 

The moment the door to the Slytherin dungeons closed behind them, Aurelia turned furiously to Peony. 

“What is wrong with you?” she asked. “You hit me! Like a common Muggle! Why did you do that?” 

“Because I don't want you whispering mean things into my ear,” Peony told her evenly. “Especially mean things about my friends.” 

“I'm supposed to be-- forget it. If that's the way you want it, fine.” Aurelia turned on her heel and stalked off. 

Peony turned to look at Rose and Liatris apologetically and a bit desperately. 

“Go ahead,” Rose said. “We'll see you later.” 

Peony nodded, then took off after her friend. 

“Aurelia, wait!” she called.

Rose and Liatris stood there a moment. 

“Poor Peony,” said Rose. 

“You don't know the half of it,” Liatris agreed, with feeling.

Rose looked at her friend, curious what she meant. Liatris just waved her hand vaguely. 

“Let's sit down and try to knock this homework out of the way,” Liatris suggested. “Ugh, on the first day!” 

Rose didn't mention that she was actually quite excited to do her first Hogwarts homework ever. Instead she just followed her friend, and they searched for seats as near to the fire as possible. The upperclassmen took all the best seats, of course, but the two girls managed to find a reasonably cozy place to study. 

They'd been working for about ten minutes when Tony came up. 

“Hey guys!” he said. “Rose, move over. These chairs are big enough for two first-years, anyway.”

Rose gave him a Look, but nevertheless pushed herself to the side of the chair. They fit okay, though it would be harder to juggle her schoolbooks, parchment, and quill this way. 

“Sorry about potions and the thing with Al,” Tony said. “I heard you guys talking in the hall.”

“Thanks,” Rose said. “It got me really angry actually. I hate favoritism. You know what, I think it ticks me off even more when I'm the one being favored-- I feel dirty benefiting from it.” 

Tony nodded. 

“It wasn't fair,” Liatris agreed. “But you know, Albus must be getting tons of favoritism everywhere else.” 

“That's not his fault,” Rose protested. 

“I know that,” Liatris said. “Just like it's not your fault that Professor Bole picked on him and not you.” 

“But,” Tony added, “I bet you Al isn't even thinking about the fact that he's being favored everywhere else. It probably hasn't even crossed his mind.” 

“That's not his fault either! I thought you liked him.” 

“I do,” Tony said. “I'm not blaming him. I'm just saying. But, hey, you do know him better. Do you think he's worrying about the ways he's been given special treatment today?” 

“Well... It's... He's...” Rose trailed off. Nothing she wanted to say seemed like it would come out the way she meant it. 

“Well... no? It's... how he's always treated?” Tony guessed. “He's... used to it? Is that what you were going to say?” 

“Maybe something like that,” she admitted. “But it hasn't crossed his mind because he honestly, truly doesn't realize! His parents have made an effort to shield him and his brother and sister from the fame and all that. The other day, when we were boarding the Hogwarts express and Uncle Harry was saying goodbye, Albus asked why people were staring. He's that oblivious. He...”

Rose trailed off, her thoughts churning, taking her places she'd never been before. Tony didn't seem to notice. 

“He actually asked what people were looking at?” he asked. “That's... kind of adorable. And hilarious.”

Rose made a noncommittal noise, and it was Liatris, looking up from her schoolwork, who realized that something was wrong. 

“You're upset,” she said, surprised worry in her voice, and she set aside her books. She turned to look at Tony in concern, then back at Rose. 

Rose shrugged, a bit morosely. “I guess I just realized that... I'm probably exactly the same, aren't I? I've probably gotten that kind of treatment my whole life, too. Like, not quite as much as the son of Harry Potter, but... still.”

“It's exactly like you said about Albus: it's not your fault,” Liatris reminded her

“But I just noticed it today. I just noticed it when it was totally blatant and turned against someone I love.” 

Tony punched her shoulder gently. “Hey, stop beating yourself up,” he ordered her. “You're going crazy over nothing.” 

She just shrugged again. 

Liatris sighed, and leaned across to put her hand on Rose's. “Look, nobody notices anything weird about the things that they see every day until they see something new,” she said. “And actually looking at the things you take for granted and being open to changing your mind once you see that new thing... that's the important part. A lot of people just won't.” 

Rose digested that, then looked curiously at Liatris. “You're really smart,” she noticed. 

Liatris laughed. “Thanks,” she said. “But that bit of wisdom's been in the making since our first night. Not about you, though. If it helps, someone else is going through about the same thing, only way worse.” 

“What... you've been having...?” Rose asked, with some surprise. Liatris had seemed, of all the first year girls in Slytherin, the most issue-free. 

But the girl shook her head. “No, not me.” 

Rose started to ask more questions, then she shut her mouth and looked over at Tony. She glanced back at Liatris, who was was subtly shaking her head 'no' as she mouthed, 'Later.' 

“Uhh...” Tony said. “I think there's something I'm missing.” 

“Girl stuff,” Liatris said briskly. “Emotions and feelings and things like that. Don't worry about it.”

Rose frowned, a bit perplexed by this comment. She'd never really had any girl friends her age... the only close friend she'd ever had, really, was Albus. She had girl cousins two years older and two years younger, and she liked both of them, but they'd never talked about feelings. 

Maybe this was why Mum had been worried about her 'socialization.' When Rose had been young, Mum had sent her to Muggle school, to get a basic grounding in non-magical subjects and so that she could make friends. It had been okay for a year or two, but when Rose was about seven it quickly became miserable. She'd been bored out of her mind by her classes and didn't get along well with anybody in her class. 

Though Mum had been insistent that Rose stick with it, eventually she'd relented and let her daughter leave school. Rose guessed her Mum had probably had a hard time at Muggle school, too, because she didn't usually back down from her convictions. Her parents had been too busy to teach her, but Grandma had taught all Rose's uncles and aunt before they'd attended Hogwarts, and she'd been doing the same for some of the other cousins.

She looked over to see what Tony thought, but he seemed to have taken Liatris's comment in stride. Things were still a little awkward, though. 

“So, did you come over here to work on your homework with us?” Rose asked. 

Tony eyed her suspiciously. “None of it's due until Wednesday. At the earliest.” 

“That's the day after tomorrow,” Rose replied, exasperated. “Come on, don't you want to get it over with so you don't worry at the last minute?” 

“I won't be worried,” Tony assured her. 

“Well, we're working,” Liatris said. “So join us or stop distracting us.” 

“Uh huh,” said Tony. “Well, in that case, it's been great, girls. Rose, stop worrying about your cousin. Gryffindors love the whole bravely-suffer-through-oppression, until-we-can-fight-back thing. He wouldn't know what to do with himself without Bole. Anyway. Have fun with the homework.” 

He stood up, giving Rose full possession of her chair again. 

“I will,” she replied, grinning. “Have fun with the homework, that is. I'll try on the whole Al thing.” 

“Uh huh,” he said again, before waving and heading over to a corner where some of the other first year boys were sitting together. 

It only took about another half an hour to finish up their homework, which left Rose feeling vaguely disappointed. Also edgy, like if she'd done it right it would have taken longer, but she couldn't see what more she do. 

Both Liatris and Rose were so cozy, though, that once they put away their books, neither felt like getting up. So they sat and talked instead. 

“So you never mentioned last night,” Rose said, “about your parents, and their Houses.” 

Liatris shrugged. “That's because they didn't have any,” she explained. “They didn't attend Hogwarts.”

“Oh,” said Rose. “Where did they go, then?” 

“Mum's family lived in America until she was fifteen,” Liatris said, “so she attended the Salem Witch Academy. Then they moved to Sweden for work, so she went to Durmstrang for the last two years of school. That's where she met my Dad. His parents are British-- so are my Mum's, by the way, they just moved around for work-- but they wanted him out of the country for the war. They tried to keep neutral themselves, but... well, choosing Durmstrang as his school is a little pro-Dark-Arts, I think.” 

“Huh,” Rose said. “But your grandparents--”

“All Slytherins, except for one Ravenclaw,” Liatris answered. “No Death Eaters, though, to my knowledge. Well, my Mum's parents were out of the country for the war.” 

Rose nodded. 

“I thought I'd find the whole House think kind of silly,” the girl continued, “but it's so hard not to get really into it! Especially Slytherin. It's like the whole rest of the school hates us, or is scared of us, or something. Hard not to want to give them all a giant 'screw you.'”

As Liatris had been talking, Rose, though she was listening, had let her eyes wander. Just as Liatris was finishing, Rose was startled to see two older Slytherin girls emerge from what had, up until that moment, appeared to be a perfectly normal mirror. 

“Hey,” Rose called to them, standing up. Liatris, confused, followed Rose's gaze, twisting around in her seat to do so. 

The older students looked over, and Rose jogged up to them. Liatris followed, still not sure what was going on. 

“Yes?” One of them answered, a tallish black-haired girl with a swarthy complexion. 

“What's the deal with the mirror?” Rose asked. 

The black-haired girl looked over at her companion, a curvy girl with brown hair. “First years,” she said, shaking her head. The brown haired girl smirked, but not unkindly. 

“Yes, we're first years,” Liatris agreed amicably. “As we all must be at some time. I'm Liatris, and this is Rose.” 

“I'm Carina,” the brown-haired girl introduced herself.

“Soraya,” said the black-haired girl. 

“Nice to meet you,” Rose said. “So... what's with the mirror? What is it for? How do you use it?” 

“There are secret places to all around the Slytherin dungeons to have private conversations,” Carina explained. “The mirror just leads to a little room where nobody can hear you. You just walk through it. If it feels like liquid, then it's empty, and you can go in. If it's solid, then there are people in there. If you think they're people who want to see you, you can press your hand against the glass and say your name, and see if it turns liquid-feeling.” 

“Thank you,” Rose said, smiling gratefully. 

“Sure.” 

Carina and Soraya walked away, and Rose looked over at Liatris. 

“Want to give it a try?” she asked. 

“I'll go grab our stuff. Why don't you go inside so nobody else steals it,” Liatris suggested. 

Rose bit her lip as she prodded the mirror; it felt like water, maybe a bit thicker. She took a deep breath and held it as she walked through, but she needn't have bothered; the sheet of liquid was extremely thin, a millimeter thick, if that. 

She looked around; the room was small, with barely enough room for the five chairs, wooden with green upholstery, that sat in a circle. 

She took a seat in one of them and waited. There was a chiming sound, almost like the Muggle doorbell she had at home, and she heard “Liatris” echo throughout the room. 

Rose had no idea how to approve a person who wanted to come in.

“Let her in,” she tried. “Enter.” 

That seemed to be good enough, because a moment later Liatris emerged. From this side, the entryway looked like a shimmering wall of black water. 

“Welcome,” Rose said, with a smile. “Thanks for getting my stuff, too.” 

“Of course.” Liatris settled down on a chair next to Rose. 

“So...” Rose trailed off, then tried to rally her courage. “What was that you were saying before? You know, the girl talk?” 

Liatris hesitated. 

“It's okay if you don't want to tell me,” Rose said hastily. 

“No,” Liatris replied slowly, “it's okay. I mean, I think it's okay. If you're going to be friends with Peony, it's not fair for you to be completely in the dark about her and her family and Aurelia and everything. I don't think Peony would mind, exactly, but they're things she'd never say.” 

“Okay... I'm confused,” Rose said. “I thought you said you didn't know them.” 

“When did I say that?” Liatris asked. 

“Er, the first night, I thought. You said you didn't really know anyone yet... and you didn't act like you knew Aurelia and Peony. Especially with that whole 'we're going to be friends' thing.” 

“Oh.” Liatris shrugged. “I don't know either of them well. Especially not Aurelia. But my parents and Peony's are colleagues. My parents don't like hers, but we had to go over sometimes and have dinner with the Greengrasses and sometimes some other families.” She made a face. “She and I never really talked, just sat at the table and ate and listened to the adults. But Peony's parents are awful. I mean really, just hideous human beings. It's a miracle that she somehow figured out that conversation is anything besides insulting supposedly-inferior people. Let alone that it's wrong.” 

“Oh,” said Rose, unable to think of any other response. 

“That's what I was talking about. Peony must have always seen the kind of behavior you see from Aurelia as a normal thing. But since she wasn't really allowed to socialize with people her parents didn't approve of, the people being insulted were never people she knew.”

“So she's just now realizing those people are real, I guess,” Rose mused. 

“Something like that.” Liatris looked thoughtful. “I'd expected Peony to be like Aurelia. I was shocked when she took your side, and then apologized for what Aurelia said. On the first night, too. Well, maybe she's had some role model who's demonstrated what a decent human being is. If not... you have no idea impressive she's been, considering. It might be hard to tell now, with her trying to figure everything out, but given some time, that girl will have a backbone that'll put the rest of us to shame.” 

The girls didn't have that much longer to talk before it was time to head to their dormitory and get ready for bed, but Rose was glad that Liatris had decided to tell her about Peony. It did make things a whole lot clearer, though it was a lot to digest. 

Also, they both were happy to know about the secret compartment. In a boarding school, privacy was a precious commodity, and a room like this one had been a real find. 

Both Peony and Aurelia were in the dormitory when Rose and Liatris arrived. Aurelia ignored both of them, while Peony looked up to smile at them and give a little wave, but she didn't say much. 

Rose wondered what it would be like to discover that Albus was actually a really mean person, and she'd just never known it. She couldn't fault Peony for wanting to keep her best friend. 

It had been a long, full day, and Rose was looking forward to some rest. She showered, brushed her teeth, and got into her comfy pajamas. It hadn't been a bad day, but it had been very exhausting, and she was happy for it to end. 

She sat heavily on her bed, and was just about to crawl under the covers when the family owl, Chudley, flew into the dormitory through one of the open windows and deposited a letter into her lap.


	4. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there's no Scorpius in this chapter, either... there was supposed to be, but the chapter was getting SO long, I decided to put the dinner party into the next part, and that's where you really meet Scorpius for the first time. But remember, this is EVENTUAL Rose/Scorpius-- they're still 11 years old right now-- they won't be super close right away. 
> 
> Finally, seems like Rose's family is mostly with her, doesn't it? Except stupid Molly. Watch out Rose... don't get too complacent! The Slytherins of your generation are a bit less evil, and your cousins don't remember a time when Slytherin was crawling with genuine Death Eaters (or mostly, students 100% intending to become Death Eaters when they reached adulthood). The rest of the Weasley clan might not be so easily swayed by a desire to smack Molly...

Chapter 4: Family  
  
.  
  
  
The owl, who had perched on Rose's shoulder, waited a few moments for food.  Rose just sat there, frozen, and gave no indication  that she was planning to so much as shift her position in the next few hours. Realizing that Rose wasn't going to so much as pat him, Chudley gave an annoyed hoot and flew out again.  
  
Peony raised an eyebrow at the expression on the other girl's face.  “From your parents?” she asked.  
  
“I guess so.” Rose didn't make a move to open the letter sitting in her lap.  “That was my family's owl, anyway.”    
  
“Well, at least it's not a Howler,” Peony said encouragingly.    
  
“Yeah.”  Rose just kept staring at the innocent-looking envelope.  She couldn't seem to summon the courage to open it.  No wonder she hadn't ended up in Gryffindor.    
  
“Need any kind of moral support?” Peony asked.    
  
Rose shook her head.  “I appreciate the offer, but I can't think of anything.  I want to read it before anybody else does.”  With a resigned sigh, she pried the envelope open, pulled out the letter, and unfolded it.    
  
“Here goes nothing,” she said, and she started to read.    
  
  
 _Dear Rosie, (the letter said)_  
  
 _How are you doing? I imagine by the time you get this letter you'll have taken some classes already._  
 _Have you enjoyed them? Do you like your professors?_  
  
 _As you may have figured out, this is Mum.  Don't worry, I managed to talk your father out of_  
 _sending you a Howler.  If hats could receive owls, though, I'm sure the Sorting Hat would have_  
 _your Dad's voice screaming at it as we speak._  
  
 _I can't pretend that the news of your Sorting wasn't a surprise, but know that I love you very_  
 _much, and I will always be here to support you.  Try not to worry about Dad.  You know_  
 _how the Weasley temper is; he's not very rational right now, but he'll get over it.  He loves_  
 _you, and  you're his little girl no matter what House you're in... he just needs a little time to_  
 _remember that._  
  
 _It may be a few weeks before you hear from him; I've forbidden him from writing to you_  
 _until I've decided he's sufficiently calm.  He'd probably send you a letter pretty quickly_  
 _taking back what he said about disinheriting you, but it would have been full of snide_  
 _comments about your House.  So I'm making him wait until he can be nice, and remember_  
 _that by insulting Slytherin, he's insulting you now, too._  
  
 _I hope that you are getting along well and making friends.  I hope you aren't too lonely,_  
 _living away from your cousins.  And I want you to know, Rosie, that more than anything I_  
 _want you to be happy.  Remember that you have every right to be happy.  Never be_  
 _ashamed of who you are, and never feel guilty about building yourself a life in Slytherin_  
 _House._  
  
 _Write back soon, I want to hear all about your first few days!  As I've said, you'll only be_  
 _hearing from me for a little while, but I'll keep you updated on your father's progress, if you_  
 _like._  
  
 _I miss you and love you so much.  Write as soon as you can._  
  
 _All my love,_  
  
 _Mum_  
  
  
“What does it say?” Peony asked, after Rose had read it through several times.    
  
“It's from my Mum,” she said.  “My Dad's so angry she won't let him write to me.”    
  
Peony winced.  “Sorry,” she said.  
  
“Mum's letter is really nice,” Rose said, “but some of what she's said is...telling?”   
  
“Like what?”    
  
“Well, you know, she wrote all about how she loves me and supports me no matter what, and claims Dad does too, he just needs time to remember that.  But there's also stuff about how I have every right to be happy, and that I shouldn't feel guilty if I like Slytherin.  Which would have been a very nice sentiment if I'd thought I ought to be miserable, but as I hadn't thought that, it just kind of seems to say... that she was thinking it.  Does that make sense?”  
  
“Yes, it does,” Peony said, “but don't be too hard on her.  If it were my Mum, and I'd been sorted into Gryffindor, all her letter would say would be about how I'm a disgrace to the family name and... well, let's just say it certainly wouldn't have reassurances that she loves me no matter what.”  
  
Rose thought about what Liatris had said about Peony's parents.  'Peony's parents are awful.  I mean really, just hideous human beings.'  
  
“That's horrible,” she said.    
  
“Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm in Slytherin,” Peony answered lightly.    
  
“I just hope you don't get any letters yelling at you for befriending a Weasley.”  
  
The look on Peony's face suggested that the thought had already occurred to her.  “It's possible,” she admitted, with distaste.  “But don't worry.  It would hardly be the first time my parents called me a disgrace, and I doubt it would be the last time.  It's the kind of word that loses its sting after a while.”    
  
Rose had no idea what to say to that.    
  
–  
  
After the disaster in Potions class yesterday, Rose was determined to get a chance to spend some time with Albus.  She got up early, and waited near the corridor where the Gryffindors arrived from.  As he passed, she grabbed his arm pulled him aside just before he entered the Great Hall for breakfast.    
  
“Rosie!” Al said, startled at the ambush . “Er, hi.”    
  
“Hi,” Rose said, pulling him into an empty classroom; he followed without resistance.  “I'm so, so sorry about yesterday.”    
  
“That's okay,” he said, uncomfortably.    
  
“Do you have some free time later?” Rose asked.  “I know we both need to eat breakfast and get to class.  But I want to hang out with you and talk, for real.  Maybe go down to the lake or something.  What do you say?”    
  
“Sure,” Al said.  “I'm free at 3 o'clock.  Is that good?”   
  
“That's great,” Rose said, smiling in relief.  “I'll meet you right out there, by the Great Hall?”  
  
Albus agreed, and the two of them hurried to get some breakfast before they had to go to class.  Rose felt a slight pang as they headed in opposite directions; herself to the Slytherin table, he to Gryffindor.    
  
–  
  
Rose had never in her entire life felt awkward around Albus... at least, not until that afternoon, as they met each other outside the Great Hall, just as they'd agreed.    
  
“Hi,” said Albus.  
  
“Hi,” Rose echoed.    
  
Rose had started to speak when she was 7 months old, and Albus when he was 11 months.  Since that time, she couldn't recall a single time they'd been at a loss for something to say to each other.  Yet here they were, standing silently in the corridor outside of the great hall.  Albus was running a hand through his hair, a nervous habit of his, making the already messy mop even more out of control.    
  
Nothing about Rose's Sorting had come close to making her feel the way she felt in that moment.  
  
She'd been unexpectedly separated from her cousins, her new friends' parents had been Death Eaters, and her father was so angry that Mum didn't believe he could could be trusted to send Rose, his own daughter, a civil letter.  But none of that hurt as much as watching Albus act like she was some kind of wild animal, about to attack. Or, even worse-- like she was a stranger.    
  
“Come on,” she said softly.  “We said we'd go for a walk around the lake, remember?”    
  
Al nodded, and they headed out into the sunny afternoon.    
  
They were silent for a while, but to Rose's surprise and relief, it was Al who broke the silence.    
  
“So what's it like?” he asked.    
  
“You mean, being a Slytherin?”    
  
He nodded.    
  
Rose shrugged.  “It's fine,” she said.  “I'm making friends.”    
  
“So people are being okay to you?”  Albus sounded genuinely worried about her, which went a long way towards making Rose feel better about his other behavior.    
  
“Mostly, yes, they're being just fine.  Aurelia Flint's being rather horrible, but nobody seems to be following her lead.  Even her best friend yelled at her for being mean.”    
  
“Good,” Al said.  “I was worried.  You know, I thought they might be cruel about you being a Weasley and all.”    
  
Rose smirked.  “I'm sure it was different back when our parents were kids, but without Voldemort spewing the blood purity nonsense everywhere, I don't think they think about it as much.  I mean, I think a lot of my housemates are still prejudiced against Muggleborns, but not like they want to kill them or anything.  And Weasleys aren't Muggleborn, you know. So, as you might have noticed during Potions class, I think Slytherin outweighs family name these days.  ”  
  
“Yeah.”  Albus scuffed his shoe against the ground as they walked.    
  
“That was really horrible of Professor Bole,” Rose said.  “I felt so bad.”    
  
“It's not your fault,” Albus muttered.    
  
“I hated it,” she said.  “I might have said something if I weren't so surprised... as I said, I didn't think she'd like me either.  And now I'm supposed to go have tea with her this weekend!” Rose made a face.    
  
“Tea?” Al asked, sounding repulsed.  “With her?”    
  
“Yeah, so she's  Peony's aunt, and Peony's becoming one of my good friends, so she invited all of us.”   
  
“And you're actually going to go?”   
  
Rose hesitated.  “I was going to,” she admitted.  “I mean, I've heard she's around the Slytherin dungeons a lot.  Professor Sinistra's really old, so a lot of the discipline and stuff seems to fall to Professor Bole.  Getting on her bad side on purpose seems like a really bad move.  But... if you don't want me to go, I won't.  She was really awful to you, after all, and you're my best friend.  Oh, that was so disloyal of me.  I'll tell Peony I can't go.”    
  
Al sighed and shook his head.  “No, don't do that.  You'll have enough problems in Slytherin,” he said.  “I can't tell you to make them even worse.”    
  
“I should have at least asked you first,” Rose said. “I didn't think of it.  I'm sorry.”    
  
“Forget it,” Al insisted.  “You don't have cousins around to look out for you like I do.  You need to protect yourself.”   
  
“It's really not that bad.” But instead of  elaborating, Rose decided to change the topic.  “So tell me about Gryffindor.  Are you making friends?”    
  
Al nodded.  “Yeah.  Me and Leonora look like we're going to be pretty close.  And there's Asher Jordan, he seems brilliant.  Everyone's pretty cool, really.”    
  
“What's it like having Neville as your head of house?”    
  
“Pretty good.  You know he's really nice, but, you also know he'll tell my parents every little problem.  Well, you've heard James complain about it.”    
  
Rose nodded.  Neville-- Professor Longbottom-- was extremely well-meaning, and he'd only ever talked to the Potters about their son because he wanted to help. Of course, that didn't stop James from getting in trouble as a result of these talks.  The older Weasleys were safer from this misplaced concern, since the Gryffindor Head of House hadn't been close friends with Bill or Percy.  He was good friends with Rose's parents, though, so she'd probably be subject to the same treatment.    
  
Maybe she had actually dodged a bullet, being a Slytherin.  Of course, that didn't necessarily mean Professor Longbottom wouldn't Owl her parents if he heard something about her, but it must mean he'd hear less.    
  
“Oh, that reminds me,” Al said suddenly.  “Neville asked me to pass on an invitation to you to have tea with us.”    
  
“When?”  
  
Al shifted.  “This weekend.  So... I guess you might not be able to make it.”    
  
Rose laughed.  “There are a lot of hours in a weekend,” she pointed out.  “I'm sure I can manage two teas in forty-eight hours.  When this weekend did he want to have it?  And who is 'us' exactly?”  
  
“Saturday afternoon, four o'clock.  Apparently it's a tradition.  'Us' is all the Weasleys and Potters.”  
  
“That'll be nice.” Rose smiled.  “It'll be a good chance to see everyone.”    
  
“Well, good, then!” Al seemed to be getting more natural with Rose.  Maybe all the weirdness was just a shocked reaction, she thought.  No matter what Houses they were in, their friendship couldn't change.    
  
“So...” Rose hesitated.  “Are they saying anything about me?”    
  
“Who?” Albus asked, trying (ineptly) to pretend he didn't know what she was talking about.    
  
“Oh, you know exactly who, you stupid.  Them.  Victoire and Molly and Dominique and James. Or any other family friends you want to throw into the mix.”    
  
“Conceited much?” Albus asked, with a quaver in his voice.  “You sure think you're important, that all our older cousins and James would be talking about you all the time.”    
  
“I never said all the time.  I just asked if they said anything.  And for the record, if they hadn't, you'd have just said 'No, not a thing,' or something like that.  So.  I guess that means they have been talking about me.”  
  
“What, just because you're a Slytherin now, you're some expert on deception?” Al asked, rolling his eyes.    
  
“I think it's the other way around, actually.”  
  
Albus cocked his head to the side, looking confused.  Rose sighed.    
  
“I mean, I guess I was sorted into Slytherin because I have an instinct for deception,” she clarified.  “Not the other way around.”    
  
“Oh.”    
  
Rose sat down on a rock and hugged her knees to her chest.  “The Hat put me in Slytherin because of my personality,” she said. “Because of the kind of person I am, the person, by the way, who happens to have been your best friend your whole life. Everything that makes me a Slytherin was already there before the Hat said anything.  Nothing about me has changed.  It's just been... categorized.”  
  
“I know that,” Albus insisted.  He sat on the rock next to her, and put his arms around her shoulders. “You're my best friend, and you always will be.”    
  
A slow smile brightened Rose's entire face.  “I'm so glad to hear you say that,” she said.  “I feel the same way.”  Then she tried to look stern, though she was still smiling.  “But I must not be too good at deception yet; I let you distract me.  What are the cousins saying about me?”    
  
Al sighed, and sat next to Rose on the rock.  “Molly is being insufferable,” he said.    
  
“Yes, and the lake is wet,” Rose agreed.  “That's kind of a given.  Could you be a bit more specific?”    
  
Al rolled his eyes.  “Good point.  Okay, she's being insufferable about you.  Talking about how it's this big disgrace to the Weasley family and she's never going to talk to you ever again.”    
  
“Did she really say that?” Rose asked eagerly.  “Do you think she means it? That would be brilliant! Bet you're jealous you're not in Slytherin, if it means you'd never have to talk to Molly.”    
  
“Do you really think she's going to keep her mouth shut when she's upset with you and think you've done something wrong?” Al asked, pointedly.    
  
Rose winced.  “Yeah... no chance. Damnit.  If only she'd stick to her word!  Well, I don't really give Hippogryff's behind what Molly thinks.  How about the others?”   
  
Al shrugged.  “I'm sure it'll all be pretty obvious at the tea.”  
  
“I'd pretty appreciate a heads-up so I know what to expect from the tea,” Rose pressed,.    
   
Albus acquiesced.  “Victoire's kind of... distractedly concerned.  Oh, you know, she really doesn't like Slytherins, but those are the ones around her year.  She'd never lower herself to think about eleven-year-olds as good or evil.  She's too high and mighty.”   
  
“Another word for that might be 'mature,'” Rose pointed out.  “Eleven-year-olds aren't usually set one way or the other.”    
  
Al gave Rose a weird look; she never defended Victoire against the accusation of being stuck-up.  
  
“Hey, I'm going to need all the allies I can get,” Rose said, with a shrug.  “If Victoire's attitude means she doesn't think I'm automatically evil, I'm all for it.”    
  
“I guess so,” Albus said.  “She hasn't said much, anyway.  She's all busy with her 7th year friends and being Head Girl and Quidditch.”  
  
Rose nodded, unsurprised.  
  
“You'll be happy to know that, oh, I think four times just in the past week, Dominique has gone out of her way to ridicule Molly for her opinion.  And to infuriate her... she says it's cool.  She keeps saying that Slytherin boys are sexy, and maybe you'll make some older friends in your house and introduce her.  Or tell her the password so she can sneak in to snog Slytherins.”    
  
Rose was torn between being amused and terrified.  “Do you think she's serious?”    
  
“I think she's, er, partly saying it to upset Molly.”    
  
“Partly.” Dominique had made her support clear from about three seconds after Rose had become a Slytherin, and she wasn't about to forget that.  Amusement won out, and Rose laughed.  “Remind me to get Dom something really nice for Christmas.  Or her next birthday.”    
  
“I'll try to remember.”    
  
“How about James?” Rose asked, curiously.   
  
“Well... he said it depends on what you think of Slytherin.”    
  
Rose did a double take.  “He said what?” she demanded, unable to believe her ears.  “That doesn't sound like him.”    
  
“Okay, so I'm making it sound better than it is.  So... know how he always says you and me are really boring?”    
  
She snorted.  “Yeah.”    
  
“Well, he thinks you'll fall apart in Slytherin.  That you'll be crying all the time about how hard it is and how they're all mean and you miss your family.  But if you like it, apparently that means you might be kind of interesting, after all.”   
  
“Okay, that does sound like him,” Rose admitted.  “Well, you can tell him I think Slytherin is  awesome.  In fact, Slytherin can kick Gryffindor's ass any day.”    
  
“Oh really? Just wait until the next Quidditch game.  We'll destroy you.”    
  
“You can try,” Rose smirked.    
  
They headed back to the castle, arguing the whole way about whether whether Gryffindor could beat Slytherin, or whether Slytherin would whip Gryffindor's ass.  They were taking shots at each other the whole way back, and Rose was delighted.  It was just like it was before all of this House stuff had happened, when every insult represented just that much more faith that nothing could ever come between them.    
  
–  
  
Thursday evening, an owl flew into the room and deposited a note onto Peony's bed.  It reminded Rose that she hadn't written back to her mother yet, but she was quickly distracted from that thought when Peony spoke.    
  
“It's from Aunt Daphne,” she said.  “She's inviting us to tea in her quarters at 3:30 on Saturday.”    
  
“Three thirty on Saturday?” Rose repeated, nervously.    
  
“Why, is that a problem?”   
  
Rose winced a little and nodded.  “Yeah, it kind of is.  I told Professor Longbottom and Albus that I'd have tea with them, and the rest of my cousins, at 4 on Saturday.  No way we'll be anywhere near done at your Aunt's in half an hour.”    
  
“Hmm.”  Peony looked thoughtful.    
  
“What do I do?” Rose asked.  “I really want to see my family, but the last thing I need is to get on the wrong side of Professor Bole.  I mean, no offense, but I'm lucky she doesn't already hate me for who my parents are.”    
  
“I'll owl her back and tell her the problem,” Peony said, taking out a piece of parchment.    
  
“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Rose asked nervously.  “She won't get angry?”    
  
Peony smiled.  “It'll be fine.  Trust me.”    
  
“Okay,” Rose said, still not entirely reassured.    
  
The other girl penned a quick note and sent it back with the owl.  It wasn't long before it returned with an answer.  Rose waited nervously as Peony opened the missive.    
  
She looked up with a bright smile.  “See? I told you it would be fine.  She completely understands.  In fact, she suggested that instead of just having tea, we should step it up and have a dinner party, starting at 6.  That'll give you two hours with your family.”    
  
Rose raised her eyebrows, surprised at this response.  “That does sound like it will work,” she said.  “Sure, I'd love to come.”    
  
Peony smiled back.  “Great!  I'll let her know.”    
  
Rose stretched out on her bed.  That seemed too easy.  Was there some kind of scheme to all of this?  But what would Professor Bole stand to gain?    
  
She shook her head.  Just because someone was a Slytherin didn't mean their every move was part of a calculated plot.  Maybe Peony's aunt was just nice... to Slytherins, anyway.    
  
–  
  
Because a dinner party like the one Professor Bole was planning required dress robes, and Rose wouldn't have the time between tea and dinner to get herself ready, she showed up to the tea in her best robes, and even some light beauty charms.    
  
“Why, hello, Rosie,” Neville greeted her as she came in.  “It's good to see you.  You certainly look nice.”    
  
Molly, Albus, and James were already seated around a simple table; Rose sat down as far from Molly as she could while still being next to Al.    
  
“Thank you,” she said to Neville.    
  
“Why are you in your dress robes?” Albus asked, giving her a weird look.  
  
“I have a dinner party after this,” Rose said.  “It starts at six, so I didn't want to have to leave early to get ready.”    
  
“A dinner party?” James repeated.  “You're going to a dinner party?”    
  
“That's what I said,” Rose agreed.    
  
“That's weird.  I don't think I've ever been to a dinner party my whole time at Hogwarts.  Is this some Slytherin thing?”    
  
Rose shrugged as she tried to decide whether or not to explain.  
  
As it turned out, she was spared  from having to give a response.  For just then, the door flew open, and Dominique tumbled into the room, looking exhausted but excited.    
  
Victoire looked equally tired as she stood in the doorway.  Her hand was poised to knock, and she looked a bit bemused as she watched Dominique barge into the Professor's quarters unannounced.  Apparently she decided there was nothing for it, because she let her hand drop and entered the room with a shrug.  She made sure to close the door behind her.    
  
“Knock, knock,” she said, pleasantly sarcastic.  
  
“Come in,” Neville said, with a touch of irony.    
  
“Guess what guess what guess what!” Dominique cried, as she fell into the chair beside Rose.    
  
“Er... you've taken some kind of mind-altering potion?” Rose hazarded.    
  
Dominique grinned.  “No,” she said, giving Rose a playful shove.  “I made the Quidditch team!”   
  
“Dominique, that's great!” Neville exclaimed, and everyone else joined in to congratulate her, though Molly did so in that obnoxious way that made it clear that she thought Quidditch was a waste of time.    
  
Victoire smile as she slid into the last empty chair, next to Neville, much more gracefully than her younger sister had. “It'll be great,” she said.  “I'm excited to have my little sister on the team with me.”    
  
“Well, now that everyone's here, we can get started,” Neville said, and he flicked his wand to bring the tea and snacks floating into the room.  They settled them on the table, and everyone began to dig in.    
  
The tea was delicious, though Rose tried not to eat too much, so that she'd have plenty of room at the dinner party.  For a while, everyone kept to safe topics.  It would have felt almost normal if not for an underlying tension in the room that Rose knew was because of her.  Apart from one brief reference from James, they hadn't addressed the Slytherin situation at all, and it was the proverbial elephant in the room... or would that be serpent in the room?  
  
The catalyst for the blow-up came from an unexpected source: Dominique.  
  
“So why are you in dress robes, Rosie?” she asked, as she hadn't been in the room when this had been asked before.  “And are those beauty charms? It's quite the switch, you all dolled up while I'm sweaty and disgusting in Quidditch robes.  You look very nice, but why the fancy coiffure?”  
  
“She's going to a dinner party after this, apparently,” James said, with the same strange tone Rose couldn't quite identify.  Amused? Disgusted? Impressed? She had no idea.    
  
“A dinner party.” Victoire was surprised.  “I haven't heard about a dinner party.”    
  
“It's just a little one,” Rose explained.    
  
“With Slytherins?” Molly asked, distastefully.    
  
“No, with Hufflepuffs,” Rose said sarcastically.  “Of course with Slytherins.”    
  
“Have any of you guys heard of dinner parties at Hogwarts?” James asked.  “Because I haven't.”    
  
Rose sighed, and decided to just tell the truth.  They were family, after all.  
  
 “Well, originally Professor Bole just planned for tea at 3:30.  She changed it to a dinner party when she heard that I wouldn't be able to make the tea, because of this one, with you guys.”    
  
Neville and all Rose's cousins shared a look.    
  
“That was... very nice of her,” Neville said slowly.    
  
Rose bit her lip and glanced over at Al.    
  
“You're going to a dinner party thrown by Professor Bole?” Molly demanded icily.  “After the way he treated your cousin?”    
  
“Now, Molly--” Neville began, but his voice was quickly drowned out by Al's.    
  
“I told her to go,” Albus exclaimed angrily.  “Rose told me that she wouldn't go if I didn't want her to, and I told her that she should.  You should shut up and mind your own business, especially when you have no idea what you're talking about.”    
  
Rose was shocked and warmed by Al's furious response.  She was the only one who felt warmed, but certainly not the only one who was shocked.   
  
“Albus!” Neville repuked sharply.  “That's enough!”  
  
Rose looked over at Al and gave him a grateful little smile.  He nodded and smiled back at her, though it seemed a bit forced.    
  
“So how'd you get an invite to this dinner party?” James wanted to know.  “Bole hates Potters and Weasleys.”    
  
“Only Gryffindor Potters and Weasleys, apparently,” Rose said.  “I was as surprised as you are.  Though it can't hurt that her niece is getting to be one of my best friends.”    
  
“Who's her niece?” James asked.    
  
“Peony Greengrass.”    
  
“Pansy's daughter?” Neville's eyebrows shot up.  “She's becoming one of your best friends?”   
  
“She's actually really nice,” Rose told him.    
  
“Sure, just like Professor Bole is actually really nice,” Molly muttered.    
  
Rose tried to remain calm.  “No, it's true, she is.  Liatris says--”   
  
“Who's Liatris? Oh, I know, another Death Eater's kid, I bet.  Very reliable source,” Molly sneered.    
  
“Liatris's parents were not Death Eaters,” Rose said hotly.  “They weren't even in Britain during the war.  Her mum's family moved around for work, and her dad's parents sent him away because they thought Britain was too dangerous with Voldemort there.”    
  
“So they didn't want to fight? Just stayed out of it, not their problem?”   
  
Rose rolled her eyes.  “Molly, if you condemn everyone whose parents didn't fight in the Final Battle,  there won't be many people left.  And yes, Peony's parents were on the Death Eaters' side. Yet she doesn't hate Muggleborns, and doesn't do the Dark Arts, growing up with parents like that.  You don't think that says something about her?”    
  
“Just that maybe you don't know her as well as you think,” Molly answered.  
  
Rose clenched her fist, trying to curb the Weasley temper.  She decided it was time to change the subject.    
  
“Dominique, you never told us what position you're playing?” she asked  
  
“Seeker!” Dominique exclaimed happily.  “That and Keeper were the only two open spots this year, and I think we all know I'm better at catching balls than at keeping them away.”    
  
James snickered.    
  
“James,” Neville said warningly.    
  
“Oh, come on,” he protested.  “She totally meant it to sound like that.”    
  
“You don't know that, and it's no way to treat your cousin.”    
  
“No, I really did know how it sounded,” Dominique offered brightly.  
  
“Then I'm scolding you, as well, Dominique.  Please be age-appropriate.”    
  
Rose grinned.  Now this felt exactly like every Weasley gathering she remembered.  
  
She was starting to genuinely feel comfortable, so of course, Molly had to ruin it.    
  
“You like Quidditch, don't you Rosie?” she asked.    
  
“You know I do,” Rose said cautiously, as she wondered where this was going.    
  
“So you're planning to play while you're at Hogwarts?”   
  
Oh.  It seemed that Rose was already used to dealing with Slytherins; she'd been looking for some intricate trap where instead there was a blunt object.    
  
“If I can make my House team, absolutely,” Rose said cheerily.  “But of course, I can't try out this year, anyway.”    
  
“So you're planning to play against your own family?” Molly demanded.    
  
“Molly.”  Neville's voice was mild, but it had a note of warning in it.    
  
“No, it's fine, Neville.” Though Rose addressed the professor, she was glaring at her cousin as she spoke.  “Molly's somehow managed to miss the fact that the whole Weasley-Potter family plays against each other every time we get together at Grandma's and Grandpop's, at least three times a year, for as far back as I can remember.  Also she's seemed to have forgotten that she thinks Quidditch is a stupid sport and a total waste of time anyway.”   
  
“There's a big difference between the family games and Hogwarts games, and you know it,” Molly sniped back.  “And besides--”    
  
“Oh, shut up, Molly,” Dominique groaned, as she grabbed a cucumber sandwich.  “If anybody besides Rosie had a right to an opinion about her playing Quidditch for Slytherin, it would be Victoire and me.  You know, the members of the family who are actually on the Gryffindor team.  And I say if she wants to go up against us, more power to her... though you should be warned, Rosie, that we won't hesitate to kick your ass, cousin or not.  Victoire?”    
  
“If Rosie wants to play Quidditch, then she should,” Victoire said.  “As Head Girl, in charge of the Prefects, Molly, I'd like to remind you that Quidditch games are supposed to about friendly rivalry, and should ideally bring the school closer together, not tear it apart.”    
  
“Weren't you dating a member of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team last year?” Dominique asked Molly.  “He was playing against Victoire.”    
  
“That's different!” Molly insisted.    
  
“How?” Rose asked, mildly.    
  
“He was a Ravenclaw,” Molly answered, as though that should answer everything.    
  
“So it's okay to play against family members, as long as you're not playing for Slytherin?” Rose inquired.    
  
“It's Slytherin, Rosie!” Molly burst out, as though she'd been holding this in for a while. “You're a Slytherin!”  
  
“Really?!” Rose gasped.  Her hands flew to her cheeks as she affected shock.  “I had no idea!  Here I was, wandering the castle, wondering which house I was in... thank you so much for telling me!”  
  
Al and James snickered.    
  
“Aren't you the least bit ashamed?” Molly demanded.    
  
“Ashamed of... ?” Rose trailed off, questioning look on her face.    
  
“Being a Slytherin!”    
  
“Ashamed of the decision that a hat made without consulting me?  No, not really.  But even if I'd chosen it, I wouldn't be ashamed.  Because you want to know the truth?” Rose leaned forward, and lowered her voice, as though she were telling her some secret. “The truth is.... Slytherin rocks.”  
  
“'Rocks'?” Molly repeated.  “That's Voldemort's house you're claiming 'rocks.'”     
  
“Uh, yeah, about seventy years ago.” Rose rolled her eyes.    
  
“And all the Death Eaters, and the Malfoys.  There's even a Malfoy in your year!"  
  
“Malfoy, though he and I haven't really talked much, has never been anything but kind and courteous to me.  Unlike someone I might mention... who is that? Oh, right.  You.”    
  
“Kind and courteous?  If you think that little prat is kind, that only shows--”   
  
“Molly, the boy is eleven,” Victoire said.  “And if he's said a word to you, you haven't mentioned it.”  
  
“Don't any of you remember anything Grandpop ever said about them, or all your parents, James and Albus and Rosie--”  
  
“Do you even hear yourself when you speak?” Dominique demanded.  “Try hearing Victoire! You're talking shit about an eleven year old kid you've never even met!”   
  
“I don't have to meet him! He's a Malfoy!”   
  
“Kind of like how the Death Eaters didn't have to meet Rose's mum, because she was a Muggleborn?” Victoire asked quietly.    
  
“Why are you taking her side? Have all of you gone insane? She's a Slytherin!”  
  
“She's also a Weasley,” Dominique pointed out angrily.  “Is where in the castle she lives more important to you than the fact that she's family?”    
  
“Also, she's not a stuck up-- prat,” James glanced over at Neville as he stopped himself from what he was about to say, though the Professor still didn't look happy. “Which is a whole lot more than we can say for you.”    
  
Rose stared at James, stunned.  She couldn't remember the last time he'd stood up for her, or given her a compliment, even if it was just that she wasn't a stuck up 'prat.'    
  
“Molly,” Neville said slowly, “I believe very strongly in second chances--”   
  
“But Malfoy--”  
  
“I'm not talking about Malfoy,” Neville told her.  “I'm talking about you.”    
  
Molly stared blankly, uncomprehending.  “What?”    
  
“As I was saying before you interrupted, I believe in second chances... which is why I'm not going to suggest that you be removed from your Prefect position right now.”    
  
“WHAT?!” Molly screamed.    
  
“Victoire and Dominique made a very good point... despite Dominique's somewhat inappropriate use of language,” Neville said,  every inch the professor.  “You expressed hate for a first year boy you've never so much as spoken to.  That kind of behavior is unacceptable in a Prefect.  Also unacceptable is discriminating based on House, as you well know.  If we were anywhere but at our private tea, and I heard you talking the way you just were, you'd be in detention for a week.  As it is, if I ever again hear you saying the things I heard this past hour, you will be stripped of your Prefect status.”  
  
Molly just stared at her Head of House, mouth hanging open in shock.  Then she glared and stood up angrily.  She looked like she wanted to say something, but apparently decided not risk her Prefect position.  So without another word, just an evil glare at Rose, she flounced out of the room.    
  
“Of course,” Rose said, once Molly was gone, “I'm pretty sure my Dad would have agreed with her on every point.”  
  
Neville sighed.  “Your mother has told me he hasn't taken it well, but he will get over it.”    
  
“Yeah, that's what she said.  But if we think Molly's been an immature prat, what does that say about my Dad, who is actually a grown-up?”    
  
“You're his daughter,” Neville said gently.  “Believe me when I say that packs a bit more emotional punch.”    
  
Rose's expression suggested she didn't find this comforting.    
  
“So you really like Slytherin?” James asked, almost eagerly.    
  
“Yes,” Rose said.  “I really do.  And... thank you, all of you.  You didn't have to stand up for me.  I didn't expect you to.”    
  
“You didn't expect us to stand up for you?” Dominique asked, sounding hurt.  “Give us a little credit!”  
  
“I didn't mean it like that!” Rose said quickly.  “Not that I didn't think you'd do it, just that... I didn't think it was your job, or that you ought to, or anything.”    
  
Though, honestly, she hadn't been sure they would take her side, and she still wasn't sure they'd have been nearly as understanding if Molly hadn't been so awful.  
  
“It's not hard to take your part over her,” James pointed out, to unwittingly reinforce Rose's thoughts.  “Molly's even more awful that she was before, which I still can't believe was possible, and you just earned a personality.”  
  
“I wasn't aware I'd been lacking one,” Rose said.    
  
“I know you weren't, that was part of the tragedy.  But a Weasley all alone in that house, who can win over Slytherins and get invited to a dinner party with Bole, can't be that much of a swot.”   
  
“Seconded,” Al said.  “Sorry, not that you're a swot, just that it's pretty cool.”    
  
“No worries,” Rose assured them.  “For one thing, I most certainly am a swot, and proud of it, thank you.  Besides, I'm not all alone.  I don't need back up with my new friends; they are my back up.”    
  
“I'm glad you've adjusted to this unexpected situation so easily,” Neville told her.  “It could have been very difficult for you if you hadn't had an open mind.”  
  
“We'll still whip your asses at Quidditch, though,” Dominique said.  “But, you know, just remember it's nothing personal.”    
  
Rose laughed.  “Let's wait and see if I ever actually make the team before we talk about that,” she suggested.  Her eye caught the clock, and she started.  “Whoops, I need to be going soon!” she said, standing up.  “Thank you for the tea, Neville.  I'm sorry everything was such a disaster.”    
  
“It wasn't your fault, Rosie,” he said.  “Or at least, no more your fault than any of your cousins'”-- he eyed all of them sternly-- “and less so than some of them.  But would you mind if I spoke to you before you left?”    
  
“Sure, what is it?”    
  
“Privately, if you don't mind.”    
  
Rose shared a puzzled look with her cousins, but followed Neville into his study.    
  
“Rosie,” he said, once the door was closed and the cousins couldn't hear, “why do you think Professor Bole changed the tea to a dinner party?”  
  
“Well, because Peony told her that I couldn't come at the original time,” she answered.    
  
“And she changed the time and made the offer more fancy because of you?”    
  
Rose shrugged.  “Because Peony wanted me to come, I guess.”    
  
Neville sighed.  “Is that what your Slytherin instincts are telling you?”    
  
Rose hesitated.  “What do you think it is, then?”    
  
“I don't know.  I was hoping you might have some insight.”    
  
She thought for a long moment.  “I don't really know,” she said.  “But I don't think you should tell my parents about it.”    
  
Neville raised his eyebrows.  “Why don't you want them to know? Do you think they'd be angry?”    
  
“Probably,” Rose admitted, “But it's not because I'm worried about getting in trouble.  Honestly, it's not.  I just have a feeling that's what she wants you to do.  And she doesn't like my parents, and forgive me, but I get the idea she doesn't like you either?”  
  
“You're not wrong,” Neville admitted.    
  
“Maybe when she found out I was going to tea with you and my cousins, she planned the dinner right afterward so that you'd know about it.”  
  
Neville sighed.  “It's possible.  I wouldn't put it past her.”  
  
“Maybe I'm just being paranoid, seeing plots everywhere,” Rose backtracked a little.  “I don't want to upset Mum and Dad, but I can't afford, as a Slytherin, to get on Professor Bole's bad side.”    
  
“Okay.  I'll have to think about you've said. I don't want you to feel stuck between old school grudges that have nothing to do with you.”    
  
Rose didn't think there was any way to avoid that, but she chose not to say so.  “I'll be late.  Do you mind if I go now?”   
  
“One more thing,” Neville said.  “Your mum tells me you haven't answered her owl yet.”    
  
“Tell her I've just been busy,” Rose said apologetically.  “Not because of anything she wrote. I'll get to it as soon as I can.”  
  
“Alright then.  Have fun at the party.”    
  
Rose nodded.  “Thanks,” she said.    
  
She bid her cousins goodbye, and headed off to spend the rest of the evening with a very different group of people.  


	5. World Domination and First-Year Coups

Title: But I'm a Weasley!

Author: Anisky  
For the full disclaimer, see Chapter 1.  
  
  
.

 

Chapter 5: World Domination and First-Year Coups  
  
.  
  
  
Rose met up with Peony, Aurelia, and Liatris at the Slytherin common room.   
  
“You're late!” Aurelia complained.   
  
“Sorry,” Rose said. “Professor Longbottom wanted to talk about some things.”   
  
“ _He's_ not your head of house, no matter how much you might want him to be,” Aurelia said.   
  
Rose had to suppress the urge to sigh. There was only so much confrontation she could take in a day. First Molly was mad at her because she was a Slytherin, and now Aurelia was mad because she was a Weasley. It would be hard to keep her temper in check, but it was also important she make a good impression tonight.  
  
“I don't want him to be,” Rose answered shortly. “I like Slytherin. And Professor Bole isn't our head of house, either.”   
  
“Not yet,” Aurelia said.   
  
“Yeah, Professor Sinistra's getting pretty old,” Peony said with a giggle. “I'm sure she's going to retire soon.”   
  
“I'd point out that Dumbledore kept working here until he was like 150, but I think she _is_ getting kind of senile, isn't she?” Rose latched onto Peony's peacemaking attempt and tried to make the conversation seem natural and friendly.   
  
“Well, if you're so upset Rose is late, why are we standing here?” Liatris asked. “Come on. Which way is it?”   
  
“Near the Potions classroom. Aunt Daphne wrote me directions in her note.”   
  
It wasn't hard to find the room. When they arrived, they were surprised to see Scorpius, Tony, and Andrei already lounging in the sitting room.   
  
“Tony!” Rose said happily. At the same moment, Liatris sounded just as pleased as she exclaimed, “Scorpius!”  
  
“Aunt Daphne!” Peony said, embracing the older woman and kissing her on each cheek. “I didn't know there were other guests.”   
  
“Scorpius is also my nephew, you know,” Professor Bole answered. To Rose's surprise, she greeted all three of the other girls, including Rose, with a kiss on each cheek, just as she had Peony.   
  
“Please, make yourselves comfortable. Dinner will be in about half an hour. Would you like refreshments? Pumpkin juice maybe, or butterbeer?”   
  
Rose asked for a butterbeer, and she and Liatris made their way to the boys while Peony went to help her aunt get drinks. Aurelia stuck with Peony.   
  
“You sounded excited to see Scorpius,” Rose told Liatris, half teasingly, half curiously.   
  
“He's been my best friend since I was seven,” Liatris answered. “I didn't tell you that?”   
  
“You never even mentioned you _knew_ him,” Rose said. “Are you just pretending you don't realize you didn't tell me, or are you the most unintentionally secretive person in the world?”   
  
“Well... I _could_ answer that, but it would deny you the fun of figuring it out for yourself.” Liatris grinned. Before Rose had a chance to respond, they'd reached Scorpius, Tony and Andrei. The three boys were sitting on a couch in front of a rectangular coffee table. The other long end had a sofa as well, while a single chair faced each short side.   
  
“Well, hello, boys,” Liatris said brightly, as she took a seat between Scorpius and Tony, who was sitting on the end. There wasn't much more room on the sofa, so Rose sat in the chair near to Tony. “What have you been up to?”   
  
“Oh, you know, trying to bring down an evil dictator and secure the leadership of the Slytherin first years-- excuse me, the first year boys-- for myself,” Scorpius answered airily. “And yourself?”   
  
“I'm leaving all that to Rose,” Liatris answered.   
  
Rose laughed.   
  
“What's so funny?” Liatris asked.   
  
Rose raised her eyebrows. “Um, what's funny about my scheming to secure the leadership of the Slytherin boys? You tell me, you're the one who told the joke.”   
  
“I meant the first year girls, of course, and it wasn't a joke.”   
  
Rose looked at her friend suspiciously. “What are you talking about?”   
  
“Um, you prevented Aurelia from bullying Morgana and Marion, thus securing their loyalty, befriending me, and even drawing Aurelia's best friend towards your side, leaving the would-be bully leader with no support.” Liatris all this as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.   
  
“I stopped Aurelia from bullying those girls because it was cruel of her,” Rose said. “And I like you, and I like Peony, and it's been _her_ choice to push past Aurelia's bullshit.”   
  
“Wow,” Liatris said, mostly addressing the boys. “She's doing a textbook job, and she doesn't even know she's doing it!”   
  
“Is anybody else worried we're looking at the next ruler of the world?” Tony asked, nudging his knee against Rose's with a smile.   
  
“Eh, it'll be a benign reign.” Liatris waved a hand dismissively. “And I'm sure she'll give me a continent.”  
  
“Ruler of the world,” Rose contemplated. “I'd never considered _that_ as a job option.”   
  
“I hear it's got great benefits,” Scorpius said encouragingly. “You can choose your own hours, be your own boss... it even comes with medical. In the sense that you could force the best doctors in the world to attend you exclusively.”   
  
“This is already not sounding so benign,” Rose pointed out. “Depriving the rest of the world from its most talented doctors.”   
  
“There's a such thing as having _too_ much conscience, you know,” Scorpius told her.   
  
“Wow, would my parents ever disagree with _that_ ,” Rose said. “Mind you, I don't think they'd support my career choice of world domination.”  
  
“True,” Scorpius agreed. “I understand they're more into keeping that position unoccupied.”   
  
“That's basically been their career path, yes.”   
  
“Now wouldn't that be an interesting scenario,” Liatris exclaimed. “They've devoted their lives to making sure nobody rules the world, and you devote your life to ruling it. What do you think they'd do?”   
  
Rose considered a moment. “Blame Slytherin,” she said, decisively. The others laughed, but Rose hadn't been joking in the slightest.   
  
Just then, Professor Bole, Peony, and Aurelia came out then with drinks for everybody. They set the drinks on the coffee table in front of each student, and then Peony sat on the side of the other sofa closest to Rose, Professor Bole sat next to her niece, and Aurelia took the chair across from Rose's. Liatris, Rose, and the boys thanked them.   
  
“Speaking of blaming Slytherin,” Liatris said, “how'd that tea with your cousins go?”  
  
Rose wasn't sure this was the best topic of conversation, but it was too late now, so she just answered as naturally as she could.   
  
“It was okay,” she said. “Molly-- she's my second oldest cousin-- she was a shrew, telling me I should be ashamed of being in Slytherin, that I'm a horrible person, and all that. But all my other cousins sided with me and ran her out of the room. Neville-- Professor Longbottom-- threatened to remove her as a prefect if he heard her talking that way again.”   
  
“Oh, wow,” Peony said. “It's great the rest of them took your part.”   
  
“Yeah.” Rose squirmed a little. “I just wonder if what they'd have said if Molly hadn't distracted them by being so unpleasant. Everyone was so busy being disgusted with Molly that they didn't really stop to think about my being a Slytherin.”   
  
“Still, I can't believe Professor Longbottom threatened revoke her prefect status,” Scorpius said.   
  
“Actually, it was kind of because of you,” Rose said, a bit hesitantly. Scorpius looked interested.   
  
“How so?” he asked.   
  
“She was talking about how this was Voldemort's House, and I pointed out that was over 70 years ago, and she went on about his followers being Slytherins too, including the Malfoys, and she brought up, well, you. So I defended you and said that you've never done anything to any of us, and she exploded about how if I think that about a Malfoy, I'm... she'd didn't get to finish. Victoire and Dominique jumped on her for talking shit about a first year student she'd never even spoken to, and Neville agreed with them. Said someone who hates an 11-year-old she never met shouldn't be a prefect, and she only has one more chance.”   
  
“Molly,” Scorpius repeated, thoughtfully. “Who are her parents?”   
  
“My uncle Percy-- Weasley, of course-- and Audrey Anders Weasley. Why?”   
  
“Just trying to figure out why Molly would hate me,” Scorpius said. “My dad didn't go to school with them. I mean, maybe your uncle, but they weren't in the same year.”  
  
“No, Uncle Percy was four years older than our parents.”   
  
“So why the hate?”   
  
Rose rolled her eyes. “Molly's... Molly,” she said. “Don't worry too much. Not only did Dominique take your part, the Head Girl and the Head of Gryffindor House took your side over hers. Victoire's grown up with Molly, and Professor Longbottom is good friends with the Weasleys and was enemies with your dad at school. So trust me when I say nobody listens to a words she says. Victoire compared Molly's judging you for being a Malfoy to the Death Eaters' judging my mum for being Muggleborn.”   
  
It hadn't escaped Rose's notice that, though Professor Bole remained silent, she seemed to be listening to all this with much interest.   
  
Scorpius raised his eyebrows, looking surprised at Rose's information. “Sounds like it was quite a tea.” Slowly his expression changed from surprise to thoughtful.   
  
“Don't,” Liatris said. “It's not worth it.”   
  
All the others looked at each other, confused.   
  
“What?” Andrei said, speaking for the first time.   
  
“He's scheming to get Molly removed as a prefect,” she explained.   
  
Scorpius narrowed his eyes at Liatris. “I need to Obliviate you. Nothing major, just what all my expressions mean.”   
  
“You can try,” she said. “You know you can never match me at dueling.”   
  
“Dueling?” Rose asked. “When have you dueled? You're not allowed to do magic until you enter Hogwarts.”   
  
Tony, Scorpius, Liatris _and_ Peony all looked at Rose with someone approaching pity in their eyes. Aurelia just looked contemptuous.   
  
“You poor girl,” said Tony, shaking his head.   
  
“Because my parents are law-abiding citizens?” Rose asked.   
  
“Don't worry,” Andrei murmured. “I never did magic until Hogwarts either.”   
  
Rose smiled at him.   
  
“So, er,” she said to Scorpius and Liatris, “no offense, Professor Bole, but you guys really think you should scheme about getting rid of a Prefect in front of a Professor?”   
  
“No offense taken,” said the professor. “And please, when we're in private, you can call me Daphne,” she added pleasantly.  
  
Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise. Neville only let a few students call him by his first name in private, mostly just the children of his good friends. He certainly wouldn't invite some first year Gryffindor he'd just met to do so.   
  
“Daphne, then,” she said.   
  
“I don't believe I heard any schemes,” said Professor Bole (Rose just couldn't think of her as 'Daphne'). “I heard Liatris telling Scorpius not to do something, claiming that he wanted to 'get rid' of a prefect. Then Scorpius said, jokingly, that he should obliviate Liatris so she couldn't read his expressions-- which is not even a confession of intent, let alone a _scheme_. All of it sounds to be in good fun to me.”   
  
So what Professor Bole was saying, Rose thought to herself, was that unless she heard the intimate details of a plot to break the rules first-hand, she'd look the other way.   
  
When it came to Slytherin students, anyway.   
  
Well, that was certainly useful information. She wondered how true it was that Professor Sinistra was Head of House only in name, or if the older students exaggerated how little the older Professor was present.  
  
“Do you disagree, Rose?” Aurelia asked, pointedly. “Do you think Daphne should _punish_ them?”   
  
Rose let out a genuine laugh. “Of course not,” she said. “I've just found this week it's good to gauge a professor's sense of humor, and Pr--- Daphne seems to have the most yet.”   
  
“Why, thank you, Rose,” said the professor.   
  
“So, now that we know the professor won't punish us for joking,” Rose said, “I want to hear more about this coup apparently happening with the Slytherin boys.”   
  
“Oh, yeah, that sounded cool!” Liatris agreed, eagerly.   
  
Unfortunately, it seemed that most of the rest of the room didn't share their enthusiasm. Scorpius shifted uncomfortably, while Peony, Aurelia, and Tony looked down at their hands. Rose had clearly made a faux pas when she'd brought up Scorpius's little battle. She was just thankful that Liatris had also been oblivious, since it meant she wasn't _entirely_ singled out as the outsider.   
  
“I probably shouldn't get involved in room mate politics,” Daphne said lightly. “It's healthier for children to work these things out on their own. And besides, I believe the House Elves are arriving with our meal!”   
  
The group adjourned to the dining room, which was much more fancy than anything in Neville's quarters. As they sat down and the dishes appeared in front of them, Rose said as much.   
  
“Professor Longbottom doesn't have a room anything like this,” she noted.   
  
“There are a couple of reasons for that,” Professor Bole said.  
  
Unlike the Great Hall, which was served buffet-style, the same first course, a goat cheese tart, appeared on a plate in front of each guest. Rose took a tentative bite and found it delicious.   
  
“Professors have a lot of input into their quarters,” she explained, “so we do a lot of designing, including the size and layout of rooms. But also, there are benefits to being in Slytherin. Have you been inside Gryffindor Tower, Rose?”  
  
She shook her head. “No, never.”   
  
“Well, since Slytherin is the house of the ambitious, naturally it had many wealthy alumni. Slytherin House receives more donations than all the other houses combined. It gives all of us the benefit of better living spaces, better furniture, more funding for activities, and so on.”   
  
“You can donate money to a House?” Rose asked, in surprise.   
  
“Of course,” Tony said. “My parents have contributed thousands of galleons over the years.”  
  
“I don't think my family even know that's an option,” Rose said.   
  
As surreptitiously as she could, she glanced over at Scorpius. Apparently his father and grandfather would never miss a chance to call the Weasleys poor, and she'd just given him the perfect opportunity. But he didn't say anything. In fact, not only did he not say anything, he didn't even look like it had occurred to him.   
  
Rose filed that away in her head. She knew she'd need as much proof as possible that Scorpius was different from his father... not that it was likely to change her family's minds much, but at least she'd be able to legitimately claim they were being irrational.   
  
–  
  
The dinner ran late-- everybody lingered over dessert-- and it was nearing curfew by the time Rose and her house mates returned to their dormitories. Rose was surprised by what a good time she'd had-- even Aurelia had been mostly civil, and when she hadn't been, nobody acknowledged her words.   
  
How strange, Rose thought, that a meal with her cousins and Neville would be so explosive, while a meal with Slytherins had been so pleasant.   
  
She slept late on Sunday, and spent most of the day in the Library, doing her homework. The only contact she had with her family that day was when she had just returned her books to her dorm room and was headed to the Great Hall for dinner. On her way, she ran into Dominique, whose unruly hair and sweaty face suggested she'd just been practicing Quidditch.   
  
“On your way to dinner?” Rose asked.   
  
Dominique nodded. “You too? Let's walk together, then.”   
  
“I'm surprised you'd let everyone see you, all sweaty from Quidditch practice,” Rose said. “You wouldn't rather go and change?”  
  
Dominique waved a hand dismissively. “Even looking like this, I'll have boys-- and some girls-- crawling all over me. That's part of the fun!”   
  
“Of course,” said Rose, amused. “Well, I'm just as glad, because I have a question I've been meaning to ask you.”   
  
“Yes?” her cousin asked.   
  
“Does Professor Binns ever take attendance?”   
  
Dominique looked surprised. “Not that I can remember,” she said. “Why? I didn't think _you'd_ want to skip classes.”   
  
“How about this,” Rose said. “You don't ask why I asked, and don't tell anybody that I did, and I'll help you get into the Slytherin dungeons when you want.”   
  
Dominique laughed. “What?”  
  
“Al mentioned something about you wanting my help in snogging Slytherins,” Rose said, with a wink.   
  
“And you'll give that help in exchange for my silence? You really are a Slytherin, aren't you?”   
  
Rose just grinned.   
  
“Okay,” said Dominique, “You've got yourself a deal.”   
  
They reached the Great Hall.   
  
“I guess this is goodbye,” Rose said.   
  
“You're welcome to join me at the Gryffindor table,” Dom told her.   
  
“Thanks, but I think I need to keep my house loyalties clear. At first, anyway.”   
  
Her cousin nodded.   
  
“But you're free to join me,” Rose added. “Might meet some cute Slytherin guys.”   
  
Dominique grinned. “I'm sure I'll take you up on that sometime soon. But I think I'd rather be a bit more presentable for first meetings.” She gestured at her disheveled appearance.   
  
“Fair enough,” said Rose, and the girls veered off to opposite sides of the Great Hall.   
  
–  
  
If only, Rose thought longingly, as she forced herself out of bed on Monday morning, History of Magic was the first class of the day, not smack in the middle. Then she'd be able to sleep in.   
  
Of course, there were a few kinks to work out in that particular plan, but she was confident she'd work something out.   
  
Unfortunately, the more Rose was in Professor Bradley's Defense class, the more she became convinced that he was ignoring her, and in fact seemed not to like any of the Slytherins. He didn't play favorites as obviously as Professor Bole, but he seemed to teach directly to the Ravenclaws, and pretend that the Slytherins weren't even in the room.   
  
Well, she thought, if Albus could put up with Professor Bole, she could put up with this. Her parents had had much worse experiences with Defense against the Dark Arts teachers; she wouldn't let this man get to her, and certainly wouldn't let him prevent her from learning what she needed to know.   
  
That day, for the first time, Rose skipped History of Magic, and went to her dormitory instead. She didn't tell anybody that she wouldn't be there, nor give any excuses; she was curious what would happen if she just didn't show up. Once she knew what sort of response _that_ got, she could better plan how to to skip on a regular basis, without anybody important realizing it.   
  
Rose was twitchy through that whole class period, as she sat alone in her room, reading her mother's notes. She didn't like just waiting to see what kind of trouble she'd be in she'd be in; but she had to experiment and gather information before she formed a plan.   
  
Her Slytherin classmates gave her some weird looks as she joined them in Potions, but they didn't say anything about her absence as everyone found their seats. Rose still sat in the front row, beside Peony. She'd have liked to partner with Al at least some of the time, but unfortunately, the second day of class, when Rose and Al had tried to sit together, Professor Bole had put a sharp end to it.   
  
_“I hope everyone likes the partners they chose last lesson,” she'd told the class, “because those will be your potions partners for the rest of the year. I've marked down where everyone sat on Monday; everyone should consider those your assigned seats. If that's not where you're sitting, please go to your correct seat.”  
  
_ Rose had been disappointed, but Al asked the older cousins, and they confirmed that Professor Bole had the same rule every year; it wasn't focused at the two of them specifically. Of course, the older cousins said, Professor Bole sometimes made exceptions if _Slytherins_ wanted to change partners.   
  
–  
  
“So why weren't you in History of Magic?” Liatris wanted to know, soon after Potions class had finished.   
  
She'd waited until they were out of earshot of anybody who hadn't been there in class to see Rose's absence for themselves. Once Potions was over, all the first-year Slytherins headed to the Common Room together. Liatris and Rose decided to show their friends the private mirror-room they'd discovered the week before. Rose had invited Tony, while Liatris had invited Scorpius; and both of the two boys pulled Andrei along for the ride.   
  
Of course, Peony had been welcome as well, but she apologetically went to spend time with Aurelia instead. Rose got the feeling she'd rather be in the secret room with them; but as it seemed she couldn't bring all of them together at the same time, Peony was trying her hardest to divide her time between Aurelia and the others evenly.   
  
It was just as well, considering there were five chairs in the little room, and Peony would have made six. Tony, Scorpius and Andrei had been suitably impressed by the hidden chamber.   
  
Once they were seated, though, Liatris had wasted no time asking Rose about why she'd been mysteriously absent.   
  
“Because I wanted to see what would happen,” Rose answered, honestly enough.   
  
Her friends looked at each other, clearly expecting something more.   
  
“What did happen?” Tony finally asked.   
  
“I don't know yet,” Rose said, an unspoken 'duh' implied by her tone. “I just went to Potions, and we came straight here. Nobody came to find me during History of Magic, if that's what you mean.”  
  
“What are you _expecting_ to happen?” Scorpius asked, a bit more shrewdly.  
  
“Not sure. I've found lately that life makes more sense if I try not to have expectations.” She grinned, and her companions acknowledged her point.   
  
“But I mean,” Rose continued, “I guess mostly I want to see if someone says anything to a teacher, if I get in trouble.”  
  
“Um... why?” asked Liatris.   
  
Rose winked, but refused to say much more. “It's a secret... for now. I'll tell you when I have it fine-tuned.”   
  
“Are you going to be in History of Magic on Wednesday?” Tony asked.   
  
She considered. “That's a good question. I'll have to think about what will work the best,” she answered.  
  
“I take it _we're_ not supposed to say anything to a teacher?” asked Tony.   
  
“I'd prefer you didn't.”   
  
“Why shouldn't we?” This came from Scorpius, who was leaning back lazily in his chair.   
  
She considered. “Well, for those of you who are my friends, because of that. If not, then maybe that whole future-world-ruler thing might encourage you to get on my good side?” Then she tossed her head, and added, casually, “Oh, and because if my plan works, then anybody I tell can benefit, too.”   
  
“Awww,” Liatris said, with a joking grin at Scorpius. “Our little Rose, acting all Slytherin with the best of them! Aren't you proud?”  
  
Rose couldn't deny feeling a little proud of herself, at that.   
  
–  
  
She ended up coming to History of Magic intermittently, between half and a third of the time, just to confuse people. Even when she was there, though, she made a point of sitting in the back of the room and doing very little to draw attention to herself-- not that Professor Binns asked for student participation very often.   
  
Only Professor Bradley could rival the history professor for pretending that students simply didn't exist. At least the latter ignored everyone, while the Defense instructor seemed to be selectively unaware of Slytherins.   
  
Truthfully, Rose didn't find DADA nearly as hard to deal with as her Potions class. Being purposely ignored was one thing, but being praised as her best friend was abused was something else entirely. Still, she couldn't think of anything she could do.   
  
“I hate it so much,” Rose said glumly after one class, about a month in, as she and some of her house mates sat together in the common room. “She's so nice the rest of the time. I don't suppose talking to her would do any good?”  
  
“No, it wouldn't,” Peony answered emphatically.   
  
Rose raised her eyebrows at her friend's tone.   
  
Peony sighed and sank back a bit in her chair. “I've already tried discussing it with her,” she confessed. “She said that as a first year student, I don't understand her teaching methods. Asked me if I thought that I knew how to do her job better than she did. She just acted like terrorizing Albus was part of some big teaching plan. And you know that if she didn't listen to me...”   
  
“Yeah. You're her niece, and I'm the daughter of two people she hates. If she won't listen to you, I've got less than no chance.” Rose cocked her head and looked at Peony curiously. “Why did you do that? Try to talk her into backing off Albus, I mean? I didn't think you and Al were friends.”   
  
“We're not,” Peony said. “I mean, I have nothing against him, I just don't really know him. But you're my friend, and _you_ care about Albus, and it upsets you.”  
  
“That was really sweet,” Rose said, touched. “Thank you.”   
  
Peony made a face. “Not that it did any good.”   
  
“Still,” Rose said. “That you tried.”   
  
Aurelia rolled her eyes and made a gagging noise.   
  
Rose turned and raised an eyebrow at the other girl. “Something to say?” she asked.   
  
“Yes, I do have something to say, actually,” Aurelia spat out. She turned to Peony. “What is _wrong_ with you?”  
  
“Wrong with me?” Peony asked.  
  
“You asked Professor Bole to be _nicer_ to some random Gryffindor because a Weasley likes him? That's a disgrace, plain and simple. What do you think your parents would say?”   
  
Rose stiffened, as did Liatris, Tony, Andrei, and Scorpius, who were also sitting with them. Something about Aurelia's tone struck all of them as dangerous.   
  
Peony leaped to her feet.  
  
“Are you threatening to tell my parents?” she asked, her voice quiet, but with an edge.   
  
Aurelia stood up as well, crossing her arms. “What would you do if I were?”   
  
“I'd tell you to think about that very, very carefully,” answered Peony. “See, friends don't tattle on each other. So if someone went running to my parents, telling them things to get me in trouble, then I'd have to ask myself... how could I call that person my friend?”   
  
Aurelia stared at her in shock. “I've been your friend-- your _best_ friend-- your entire life! Until we came here, that is! Friends stand up for each other, too. But you decided to choose blood traitors, and anyone else who happens to be in the room, over _me_! So maybe I have to ask myself, how could I call _that_ person _my_ friend?”  
  
Rose looked around to see what the others were doing; this seemed like it might be a private fight. But her classmates had all remained seated, and seemed to be watching with interest. Rose decided that she'd probably just draw attention to herself if she were the only one to leave.   
  
“I haven't been choosing anybody over you. It's possible to have more than one friend, you know! It's just you've been so _cruel_ ,” Peony cried. “If someone else were saying cruel things about you--”  
  
“You'd _what_?” Aurelia nearly snarled. “Oh, that's right, you'd say I deserved it, like you did the very first night. You'd kick me out so you could agree with them and talk behind my back.”   
  
“You _did_ deserve it that night,” Peony said. She looked near tears. “What's wrong with you? Why _were_ you being so mean to Morgana? What had she ever done to you?”   
  
“It was just a joke!” Aurelia nearly screamed. “I _told_ you that.”   
  
“And I accepted it!” Peony answered, stamping her foot. “I forgave you! But then you just went and started talking shit again, and again, and _again_.”   
  
“I'm just joking! You should _know_ that! Do you have _no_ sense of humor?”   
  
To everyone's surprise, Liatris stood up, and straightened her shoulders. “I don't think it's _Peony's_ sense of humor that's the problem,” she said.   
  
Aurelia took a threatening step towards the small blonde. “What's _that_ supposed to mean?”   
  
Liatris took a step backwards, but she did so with considerable aplomb. I'm not retreating, her body language seemed to say; I'm disdaining your crass invasion of my personal space.   
  
“It means that _nobody_ thinks you're funny,” she said. “Five girls you have to live with think you're awful, and you all by your lonesome think you're cool.”   
  
Peony quickly tried to stop them. “I _don't_ think Aurelia is awful,” she told Liatris firmly.   
  
“You think she's _being_ awful,” Liatris responded.   
  
Aurelia turned to Peony, hands on her hips, waiting for a denial.   
  
“I just don't know why you're acting like this,” Peony told Aurelia apologetically. “I just wish you'd stop being mean to people I like.”   
  
“Yeah? Well, I wish that our friendship actually meant something to you. Because right now, when asked to make a choice between me and some girls you've known for a few weeks... you're choosing _them_.”   
  
Aurelia turned to flounce off, but Peony ran after her and grabbed her arm.   
  
“Don't touch me!” Aurelia cried.   
  
“Just listen!” Peony insisted. “Nobody's asked me to make a choice! I don't know where you're getting this choosing thing! There's no choosing happening here!”   
  
“Maybe _I'm_ asking you to make a choice,” Aurelia said. “What would you say then?”   
  
Peony drew back, looking at the other girl in shock. “I'd... I'd want to know why you'd ask something like that.”   
  
Aurelia just glared stonily.   
  
“Let's find somewhere private to talk, okay?” Peony asked pleadingly. “Please?”   
  
“Yes, please do,” chimed in a random older student, who was sitting in one of the nearby chairs. “Some of us are trying to study.”  
  
The first years looked over in surprise, embarrassed that they'd been making such a commotion.  
  
“There's a secret, sound-proof room if you tap that stone right there with your wand,” the girl continued, pointing. “The one three down from the middle of the painting.”   
  
“Please,” Peony said again. “Please, let's talk.”   
  
Aurelia huffed. “Fine.” She stalked towards the painting. “But just the two of us. I don't want _them_ coming.”   
  
“Of course not.” Pansy followed and tapped the stone. “This is you and me.” She looked over her shoulder and said, apologetically, “I'll catch up with you later, okay?”   
  
The others nodded as the other two girls disappeared into the wall.   
  
“Well,” Rose finally spoke. “It seems _someone_ thinks I should feel like an imposter.”   
  
Liatris just rolled her eyes. She sat down and squeezed Rose's arm reassuringly. “That's one in favor of your being an imposter. All opposed?”  
  
Liatris, as well as Scorpius, Tony and Andrei, all raised their hands.   
  
“There's four right there!” she said, with a smile. “And I'm sure Peony would make five. Plus Morgana, and Marion, and even Professor Bole. We're at eight to one already.”  
  
Rose smiled weakly. “Thanks.”   
  
The blonde girl rolled her eyes affectionately and shook her head. “Don't you realize?” she asked, putting her arm around Rose's shoulders. “ _You're_ not the outsider in this group.”   
  
That definitely made Rose feel a whole lot warmer, inside. “Really?”   
  
Scorpius laughed. “About the opposite. That was your proof of victory right there. Didn't you even notice? Why did you think we've been so quiet?”   
  
“I have no idea,” Rose said. “I thought it was kind of weird that neither of you were saying anything. Of course, Andrei never says anything anyway.” She shrugged apologetically at the boy, who didn't seem insulted. “What do you mean, my victory?”   
  
“You just achieved with Aurelia what Scorpius's has been trying to do to Clarence all month,” Tony explained. “You prevented the dictator from getting into power. We couldn't interfere in the final scene!”   
  
Liatris rolled her eyes. “For a girl who's been full of answers in class, you can be really dumb.” She laughed, then turned sober. “Aurelia's a bully. She's a mean girl who's used to keeping people in line with fear. She's used to people like Morgana, or Marion, people who don't fight back.”   
  
“She wanted to be the leader, and rule by fear. You didn't let her,” Tony said. “Just like we're trying not to let Clarence.” He paused. “Well, mostly it's Scorpius doing the work.”   
  
“You did a beautiful job,” Scorpius said. “I'm impressed.”   
  
“This is the same thing you were talking about during Professor Bole's dinner, isn't it?” Rose asked doubtfully.   
  
“I told you she really didn't realize what she was doing,” Liatris said to Scorpius.   
  
“I think I believe you,” he answered, regarding Rose with a look of interest. “ _Fascinating._ ”   
  
“So you're saying I'm now, what, the leader of the Slytherin girls? That's ridiculous.”   
  
Somehow, Marion and Morgana chose that exact moment to approach the little group.   
  
“Rose?” Marion asked timidly.   
  
“Yes?” Rose asked.   
  
“We noticed that you haven't been in History of Magic for a few weeks,” Morgana said.   
  
Rose was about to open her mouth, trying to think of what to say, when Marion spoke again.   
  
“We just wanted to know if you wanted us to give you our notes,” she offered. “We can copy them out for you.”   
  
“Um, no,” Rose said. “No, thank you, that's not necessary.”   
  
“Okay, if you're sure,” said Morgana. “Tell us if you change your mind.”   
  
“Also,” added Marion, “you might want to know, that some of the Hufflepuffs in class were talking about telling a teacher.”   
  
Rose nodded. “Okay... did they say who? Professor Smith?” Professor Smith, who taught Charms, was the Hufflepuff head of house.   
  
Morgana and Marion looked at each other in surprise.   
  
“Well, we... of course, we warned them they'd better not tell anyone,” Morgana said, as though that's just what Rose ought to have expected.   
  
Marion nodded earnestly. “We even got Donaugh and Thomas to stand behind us and look really menacing as they said it. Andrei helped too when he saw us,” she added, nodding at the boy who was sitting next to Scorpius.   
  
Rose turned to look, in surprise, at the large but very shy boy who had so far always seemed to be scenery, given that he almost never talked around girls. Andrei just shrugged back, blushing a little.   
“So we don't expect them to actually do it, they were pretty scared,” Morgana concluded. “We just thought you should know.”   
  
“I see,” Rose said. “Well... thank you. Um, don't _actually_ have anyone hurt them if they tell, okay? I know someone will, sooner or later. It's okay.”  
  
The girls nodded earnestly. “We promise, threats only,” said Morgana.   
  
“I'll tell Donaugh and Thomas,” Marion said, “though...” she trailed off, looking at Scorpius a bit nervously.   
  
“I'll mention the same,” he said casually. “There won't be anything for them to worry about; I don't think Clarence will be pushing them to beat people up to protect Rose.”   
  
Relieved, the two girls nodded, and hurried off. Rose stared after them, stunned.  
  
Tony laughed. “So... you're not the leader of the Slytherin girls?” he teased.   
  
Rose just shook her head. She turned to look at Andrei.   
  
“You knew about this?”   
  
The boy shrugged again.   
  
“Well, that was nice of you, I guess. So, thanks.”   
  
“No problem,” he mumbled.   
  
The conversation turned to more normal topics, as Rose tried to process what was happening around her. Hufflepuffs had been threatened to keep silent because of her? Well, it was obvious that if this leader thing was real, she'd have to pay closer attention to what happened in her name.   
  
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the wall open up, right where Peony and Aurelia had entered it. Aurelia stalked out first, still looking furious. She marched straight past everyone without saying a word, and down the hall towards the dormitory. Peony came behind her, looking tired, and obviously crying. She sat in an empty chair between Rose and Tony.   
  
The boys looked uncomfortable, seeing a girl cry, so the other girls took the lead.   
  
“What happened?” Rose asked, gently.   
  
“I think she's going to owl my parents,” Peony said. She kicked the air. “I can't believe she'd do something like that.”  
  
“Oh no!” Rose groaned. “What are they going to do?”   
  
Peony shrugged and sniffled. “A Howler, maybe. I already told you I wouldn't be surprised if I got one about being friends with you. They were bound to find out eventually.” She fidgeted. “I think she's going to tell a teacher about how you've been absent all the time in History of Magic, too. I'm sorry.”   
  
“Oh, don't worry about _that!_ I knew someone would.” And as a bonus, no innocent Hufflepuffs would be hurt as a result. Rose leaned over and hugged her friend, tightly. She was worried that the others would say something about the fight cementing Rose's reign, or something, but instead they also just seemed concerned about Peony.   
  
“It'll be okay,” Liatris said, joining Rose and Peony's hug. “If we have to, we'll stand with you against your family, just like we'll stand with Rose against hers. You live with us now, not with them.”   
  
“I still live with Aurelia,” Peony pointed out.   
  
“It's five against one,” Liatris reassured her. “She can't do anything.”   
  
“But... I didn't want to be _against_ her at all.”   
  
Rose sighed. She could certainly relate to that.   
  
–  
  
Two days later, Rose was summoned to Professor Bole's office. She had very little doubt what it was about, and though she knew all along that this would be the result of her actions, she couldn't help but feel extremely nervous.   
  
The door to the office was open, but Rose stood in the doorway, waiting until she was invited in. “You asked to see me, professor?” she asked politely.   
  
“Yes, Miss Weasley, I did. Please, come in and take a seat.”   
  
Rose did so.   
  
“Do you know what this is about?”   
  
“I'm not positive,” Rose answered. Well, she didn't know for 100% certainty.   
  
“A fellow student claims that you're skipping class,” Professor Bole said.   
  
Rose tried to look as innocent as possible. “You've seen me in class, Professor,” she said. “You know I care about my studies a lot. What class am I supposedly not attending?”   
  
“History of Magic,” Professor Bole answered, to Rose's utter lack of surprise.   
  
She nodded. “Did you ask Professor Binns if I've been in class?” she asked calmly.  
  
Professor Bole snorted. “He had no idea who you were, but then, he couldn't name a single student of his, in any year, up through seventh,” she answered dryly.   
  
“That's unfortunate,” Rose said. “So... what now?”   
  
“I've asked a few of your fellow Slytherins, and they've all said you've been in class,” the professor continued. “I haven't asked the Hufflepuff students yet. Would they agree that you've been in class?”   
  
“I believe so, Professor,” Rose said. “Unless they had a grudge against me or something.” _Or bravery worthy of a Gryffindor_.   
  
“Hmm,” said the professor.   
  
“What are you going to do, ma'am?” Rose asked.   
  
“Well, usually, even an unsubstantiated claim should be discussed with your parents,” Professor Bole said, with an oddly malicious smirk that Rose didn't think was actually meant for her. “But I don't think _that's_ necessary in this case. All the other teachers have said your attendance is good, and with the exception of one” --the professor's nose wrinkled, and Rose could guess pretty easily which teacher was the exception-- “they've all declared you an exceptionally bright and dedicated student. Your performance in my class has suggested the same.”   
  
“Thank you, ma'am,” said Rose.   
  
“Of course, as your professor, I must urge you to consider why a student might have made this claim, and try to avoid whatever caused such problems in the first place.”   
  
_Hmm._ “And if the student makes the claim again?”   
  
“Unless she-- or he-- brings compelling evidence, of course, I won't bother you with it again.”   
  
Rose smiled and thanked the professor. “And, um, I'm sorry if I did something, that caused you to have to ask around other professors and students for nothing,” she said, very apologetically indeed. “I'll do my best to make sure schoolgirl grudges don't cause you any annoyance again.”  
  
“I'd appreciate that very much, Miss Weasley.”  
  
But Professor Bole's voice was warm and friendly as she said that. Rose bid her professor farewell and left the office, smirking once she was out of sight. That couldn't have gone any better if she'd planned it.   
  
For unlike Aurelia, Rose remembered quite well how Professor Bole had said she didn't like getting involved in “room mate politics.” Though she'd really told the truth, Aurelia _appeared_ to have sent their professor on a wild goose chase, just because she disliked Rose. That wasn't going to earn Aurelia any points with the Slytherin professor.   
  
–  
  
The girls didn't get a front seat to Scorpius's final victory, or whatever they might call it, against Clarence, the way the boys apparently had to Rose's against Aurelia. But it was obvious that whatever the boys had set out to do, they'd done; over the next months, Clarence sulked his way through Hogwarts, just as Aurelia did. Mostly they served as each other's only companions.   
  
Peony got a threatening Howler from her parents, and though she recovered from the cruel words quickly, it seemed to have ruined her friendship with Aurelia. Rose wrote home, and told her Mum about how much Peony had to go through, all because she asked Professor Bole to be nice to Albus. She'd been hoping for some acknowledgment that Peony was suffering because she'd tried to help Al, maybe even an offer for Peony to spend the Christmas holidays with them so that she wouldn't have to face her family. But Rose's mum, though she still wrote pleasant letters, didn't say a word about Peony.   
  
Dad still hadn't written to Rose, which made her nervous. As the Christmas holidays approached, both Peony and Rose became more anxious about having to face their families for several weeks.   
  
“You two could come stay with me,” Liatris offered. “My parents said they'd be happy to have you.”   
  
Rose shook her head. “I can't avoid my family forever,” she said. “Better just to face it head-on. They're Gryffindors; they'll want to see the brave approach.”   
  
Peony also declined, regretfully. “I _have to_ smooth things over with them,” she said. “Maybe they'll understand better if I tell them in person.”   
  
Liatris nodded. “Good luck,” she said. “To both of you.”   
  
Rose though about the huge Weasley Christmas celebration at the Burrow every year, and winced. She was pretty sure she was going to need every ounce of luck she could get.   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Christmas break, when Rose must face the entire clan of Weasleys! Poor thing... though I have to admit, it's a chapter I'm really looking forward to writing, because it's part of what I find so fascinating about the whole concept of this fic. A the summary says, she didn't mean to be, but suddenly Rose stands out, she's different, and now she's the lone Slytherin in a sea of Gryffindors. What will she do? What will they do? It's all so exciting...
> 
> Finally: BETA BETA BETA PLEASE! I've planned the plot only so far, and will soon be at a loss for what to write, no matter how much I'm getting into this fic. 
> 
> Finally finally: Thank you so much for all the reviews! I've tried to answer all of them, and feel much better about the quality of this fic. Please keep them coming!


	6. No Place Like Home for the Holidays

But I'm a Weasley!

  
  
Chapter 6: No Place Like Home for the Holidays  
  
.  
  


  
Rose approached her family cautiously, lagging behind Albus.  Her parents looked around the platform; Rose stopped moving, suddenly too scared to continue.    
  
Hermione saw her first.  Rose's mother's face lit up and she ran towards Rose, scooping her daughter up in her arms and whirling her around in a hug.  Rose might have been embarrassed, but it felt too nice.    
  
“Rosie!” Mum cried, as she squeezed her tight, before she set her back on the ground again.  “It's so good to see you!”  
  
“I'm happy to see you too, Mum,” said Rose.  She hugged her Mum tightly as well, and let go reluctantly when she remembered they were at the train station surrounded by her classmates.    
  
She bit her lip and looked at her father, who had come up beside them.    
  
“Hi, Dad,” she said quietly.    
  
“Rosie.”  Ron leaned over to give her a tight hug.  “Rosie, Rosie.  I missed you so much!”  
  
“I missed you too,” she whispered.    
  
He pulled back and looked at her face for a long time. Usually it was easy to tell what her Dad was thinking. But even though his quiet gaze gave her plenty of time to study his face, Rose found herself, for once, at a complete loss. Eventually she flushed and started squirming.    
  
“We should go back over to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny,” she said.  “Sorry I made you come over here.”    
  
Mum put an arm around her shoulders.  As they walked back to the Potters and Hugo, Rose looked around the station.  Peony was standing with a woman Rose assumed was her mother, and a younger boy and girl.  From the expression on the woman's face, it seemed Peony was getting a considerably colder reception than Rose was.  Peony looked up, and the girls' eyes locked; Rose gave her friend a sympathetic wince, and a wave goodbye.  To her surprise, Peony waved back to her.    
  
Mum and Dad looked over to see who Rose was waving to, and they didn't seem too happy with what they found.  
  
“Is that Pansy Parkinson's daughter?” Mum asked, attempting but failing to keep her tone light.  
  
“Her name’s Peony Greengrass,” Rose said.  “I don't know what her mum was called at school.”    
  
“That's Pansy's daughter, all right,” Dad said grimly.  “She married Ares Greengrass a few years out of Hogwarts.”    
  
_ Ares?  _ Rose thought, stifling a giggle.  That name must have been a trial, when he was a kid.    
  
“I talked about Peony in my letters,” Rose said.  “I told you we were good friends.”  
  
Dad jerked at that, and his face began to turn red.  
  
“So you did,” agreed her Mum, giving Dad a warning look. For some reason, Dad looked like he couldn’t decide whether to be angrier at Rose or her Mum, but he just ground his jaw.  
  
“I know her parents are awful.  I told you they sent her a Howler just because they found out she was friends with me and tried to help Al, remember?”  
  
Dad's face was even redder as he opened his mouth to speak, but Mum beat him to it.    
  
“Why don't we discuss everything later, when we're at home?” she suggested, in a voice that let them know it wasn't  _ really  _ a suggestion.    
  
“Oh, we’ll discuss it, all right” Dad said darkly, glaring at both of them.  
  
Rose swallowed, and ducked her head as they made their way over to the Potters.  
  
As they reached the rest of their family, Rose held out her arms and cried, “Hi, Hugo!” She pulled him in for a hug, but he stiffened and returned the embrace very hesitantly. Rose was surprised; since he was young, Hugo had never really liked being touched, but his older sister had always been one of the few people he was comfortable with. As she let go of her brother, Rose looked at him searchingly. Did three and a half months apart really jar him so much?   
  
“Rosie!” Lily exclaimed.  Unlike Hugo, her younger cousin had no compunction about flinging herself into Rose's arms.  Rose nearly fell over from the impact, but she didn't mind. She felt a little better as she returned Lily's embrace with a tight squeeze.  
  
When they let go, Lily started talking a mile a minute, trying to fill Rose in about everything that happened while she was away, and asking a million questions about Hogwarts, without stopping to hear the answers. Which was fortunate, since Rose's thoughts were distracted and she was barely half-listening to her young cousin.  
  
Eventually Lily paused for breath, and Rose took the chance to say, quickly, “Hi Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry.”    
  
They also enveloped her in a hug, but there was a tension in the air that Rose had never felt before.  When she pulled away, she could see both of them eyeing her green-and-silver Slytherin scarf with wary expressions.    
  
Wanting to escape the look in their eyes, she turned her attention back to Lily and her questions.  The merry chatter of a nine-year-old girl, unreservedly happy to see her, was an excellent remedy for awkwardness and tension... or, at least, masked it well.    
  
–  
  
On the bright side, Rose thought, the awkward tension didn’t last long once her family arrived home.   
  
Unfortunately, that was because her father exploded the moment the door was shut and the privacy wards were in place.   
  
“The  _ Greengrass girl _ ?” He shouted, whirling to glare at Rose. His face was already turning red, which was never a good sign.   
  
“Hugo, go upstairs,” Mum ordered, quietly but firmly. Hugo clearly had no objection to leaving. His eyes were wide as saucers as he backed away and then fled up the stairwell, taking them two at a time.   
  
Rose swallowed, wishing she could follow her little brother.   
  
“Ron--” Mum said, in the tone she always used when trying to calm him down.  
  
“Don’t you ‘Ron’ me!” her father spat angrily. “You knew about this, and didn’t tell me?”   
  
“I knew you’d send her a Howler or something horrid,” Mum said, wringing her hands.   
  
_ So you let him find out when he could yell at me in person?  _ Rose thought, annoyed.  _ She should have at least warned me!  
  
_ Mum had obviously had the same thought, because when she glanced over at Rose, she looked guilty and apologetic.   
  
“Well, maybe it would have knocked some sense into her!” Dad growled. He rounded on Rose again. “What were you _ thinking _ , befriending someone like that?”  
  
“Befriending someone like  _ what _ ?” Rose demanded. “An interesting, smart,  _ nice _ girl who has been nothing but kind to me? Oh, I don’t know, maybe I was thinking that I  _ like  _ her!”   
  
“You have no  _ idea _ \--” Dad began.  
  
“No idea of what?!” Rose cried, cutting him off. “No idea what she’s like? I’ve been living with her for the past three and a half months, I think I know her pretty well! No idea about her parents? I’ve already  _ told  _ you, I know they’re terrible people and they did horrible things, but  _ Peony _ never did anything! It’s not  _ her  _ fault who her parents are!”  
  
“THEY’D HAVE KILLED YOUR MOTHER IF THEY HAD THE CHANCE!” He roared, face redder than Rose had ever seen it. “And you stand around  _ giggling with their daughter _ ?”   
  
“Ron, that’s not-- Rosie, wait, don’t--”   
  
Rose’s lower lip was quivering. The things her father was saying to her... it was like... it was like he thought she was as bad as they were. Like he thought  _ she’d  _ kill Mum herself given the opportunity.   
  
Like he hated her.   
  
“I should have stayed at Hogwarts,” Rose spat angrily. “I wish I never had to see you ever again!”   
  
She spun and ran upstairs to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Ignoring the rules about under aged magic, she performed a locking spell on the door, and then threw herself face-down on her bed, trying to stop herself from crying.   
  
She could hear her parents fighting downstairs. Usually when they had a serious fight they cast a muffling charm so that their children couldn’t hear; but apparently both of them were too agitated to think of it just then. Rose hugged her pillow as tight as she could. She could hear her Mum defending her, but that almost made her feel worse, knowing that  _ she _ was the reason they were fighting so violently.   
  
She half-expected to hear Hugo knocking on the door; the few other times Mum and Dad were fighting so badly they forgot to cast the muffling charm, he’d always crept into her room for comfort. But the door remained silent. Rose didn’t even know if she wanted her little brother there. She didn’t think she could make him feel any better, considering how she felt... but it might have been nice not to be alone.   
  
\--  
  
It was sometime later when Rose awoke to a gentle knocking on her door. Apparently she’d fallen asleep at some point during the fight. After a while, when she just about couldn’t take any more, she remembered that she knew how to cast a silencing charm now. Exhausted from her journey and from the heightened emotions, she must have drifted off.   
  
Since she could hear the knocking, clearly the silencing charm had worn off once she’d fallen asleep; probably that meant the locking charm had, too.   
  
“Sweetie?” Mum’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Are you okay?”   
  
Rose hugged her pillow again. “I guess so,” she called.   
  
“Your father’s gone.”   
  
Rose sat up abruptly. She flung herself off the bed and rushed to the door.   
  
“ _ What _ ?” she gasped, as she opened the door to look at her mother. “He  _ left _ ?”  
  
“Oh, no, honey, don’t worry,” Mum said soothingly as she took Rose into her arms. “He’s not gone for good. He’ll be back in a while, after he cools down. He’s probably at your Uncle Harry’s.”   
  
“Oh,” Rose said quietly.   
  
“Why don’t you come on downstairs?” Mum suggested. “We can have cocoa.”   
  
“Thanks,” Rose sniffled, “but not right now, okay? Maybe in a little bit.”   
  
“That’s fine, Rosie.” Mum stroked her hair gently. “Take all the time you need. Do you want to talk?”   
  
“I guess so,” she said. “Maybe. Oh, I don’t know.”   
  
“It’s hard for him, but he does love you, Rosie, very much.”   
  
“He didn’t sound like it,” Rose mumbled. “He sounded like he thought... like he thought I wouldn’t care if someone killed you. Because of who my friend’s parents are.”   
  
“Oh, sweetie, he doesn’t think that,” Mum told her, hugging her tightly. “He just needs time. It’s harder for your Dad, I think.”   
  
“Why?” Rose asked.   
  
“Well, because it was  _ me _ they hated so much. All Muggleborns, really. Sometimes it can be harder to forgive someone for what they did to someone you loved than it can be to forgive someone for what they did to you. Do you understand?”   
  
Rose thought about Professor Bole, and Professor Bradley, and she nodded.   
  
“Yes,” she said. “I understand.”   
  
Mum rocked her back and forth, and Rose made no move to pull away.  
  
  
\--  
  
  
Maybe it was cowardly, but Rose had no desire to see her father after their fight. He’d come home later that night and knocked on her door, but she just yelled at him to go away. Thankfully, he didn’t push the issue.   
  
Though Mum’s Christmas vacation had already begun, her father’s holiday didn’t start until the day before Christmas Eve, so he wasn’t home during the day. Rose didn’t emerge from her room until the next day, when she knew he’d be at work.   
  
Nobody was downstairs, but that was fine with her. In the kitchen sat a pot of hot chocolate, kept warm by a heating charm, and Rose poured herself a mug and curled up on the couch.    
  
She took out her schoolbooks, but for once she didn’t feel like looking at them.  Instead she stared at the family Christmas tree, covered in ornaments, so comforting and familiar. At the top that silly star still sat, the one she'd made with popsicle sticks and golden glitter, back when she was five years old and still attended Muggle school.  
  
The tree was a little lopsided, the branches were thicker on the left side than on the right, there was a hole near the top that all the tinsel in the world couldn't hide, and it was brown in a few spots.    
  
As a little kid, Rose had always envied the Potters' Christmas tree. Their tree had always been huge, green, perfectly balanced, in fact perfect in  _ every  _ way.  But Hermione always insisted on a normal Muggle tree, without any magical changes or enhancement.  She said that imperfection was part of the charm.    
  
Rose had to admit, something about this left-leaning, flaw-filled tree made her feel more cosy, more comfy and at-home than a perfect one would have.    
  
“What are you thinking about?”  
  
Rose looked up; she hadn't seen her mother approaching.  Now Mum sat next to her on the sofa.   
  
“Christmas trees,” Rose answered.  “How you always liked the flaws.  And I guess, about how different everything was last year at Christmas.”    
  
Mum nodded.  “Everything changes,” she said.  “That's what growing up is all about.”    
  
“I'd just been so  _ sure _ , last year, where I would be this year,” Rose said.    
  
Her Mum nodded again.  “I know how you feel,” she said.  
  
Rose looked at her mother skeptically, and Mum laughed gently, putting her arm around her daughter's shoulders.  
  
“I understand better than you may think, sweetie. Remember, I'd no idea witches and wizards even  _ existed  _ until the summer I got my letter from Hogwarts.  In fact, my parents hadn't planned to send me to boarding school at all. Moving away when I was eleven was a complete surprise.  So my first Christmas home from Hogwarts was pretty different, too.”    
  
“Your family wouldn't have known the difference, what House you'd been in.  They didn't know enough to think one way or another about Sorting.”  Rose sighed, and took a sip of her cocoa.    
  
“That's true,” Mum agreed.  “But there were so many things I could never share with them.  There was a huge part of my life they could just... never know. Which meant there was a huge part of  _ me _ they could never know.”    
  
Rose was surprised into silence. She hadn’t expected to hear own feelings come out of her mother’s mouth-- because that  _ was _ how she felt, almost exactly. Like there was something inside of her that her family could never understand, and as time went by, that part would only grow larger and larger.   
  
But she couldn’t tell her mother that. She couldn’t bear to see the pain on her mother’s face if she did.   
  
“My friends are good,” Rose said instead.  “No matter what their parents did.”  
  
Mum didn't say anything for a while, and eventually Rose looked up at her, worried by the prolonged silence.    
  
“Rosie...” Her mother hesitated.  “I probably shouldn’t say this, but all I can think is that not telling you, not explaining, would only make things worse for you. You’re growing up, and you’re so smart... I hope you can understand what I’m trying to say.”  
  
Then Mum paused, and she was quiet for a long time. Just when Rose was about to burst and exclaim  _ Just tell me! _ , her mother finally continued.  
  
“I wish I could... the last thing I want to do is make things harder for you. I want you to know that I trust you, and I trust your judgment. I don't think you'd become good friends with a bad person.” Mum smiled sadly. “I  _ know  _ that, but when it comes to the daughter... or the children... of people who wanted to kill me, and who were so cruel to me at school... I trust you and believe in you, but that doesn't make the feelings disappear. I wish I could erase them, but I can’t.”    
  
Rose nodded slowly. She thought she understood what her mother was saying: her Mum wasn’t perfect. Rose was old enough to know that grown-ups had faults, but she was young to  _ wish  _ she could still believe her mother could fix anything.   
  
“Were there any Slytherins that you liked?” Rose asked quietly.   
  
“There were Slytherins I didn’t hate,” Mum said slowly, apologetically. “There were a couple of Slytherins who I respected. Al’s named for one of them.”   
  
“Severus Snape,” Rose murmured. “But he was your professor.”  
  
Mum nodded.   
  
“And,” Mum continued with a smile, tightening her arm around Rose in a half-hug, “right now there’s one Slytherin I love to pieces.”   
  
Rose did her best to smile back.   
  
She wanted to tell her mother about her own problems, her own confusions. But after what Mum had said, how could she be objective about things like Professor Bole? How could she forgive Rose for sometimes  _ liking  _ the professor who was so mean to Albus, who had probably been one of those girls who were so mean to Mum  during her school days, no matter how guilty Rose felt about it?   
  
No, things like that were best left unsaid.   
  
  
–  
  
  
A lot of things were different this year, but there was still some comforting familiarity to be had. The family still kept the same schedule they’d had every year, as long as Rose could remember.   
  
The morning of Christmas Eve was reserved for Nana and Grandpa Granger. That was usually fun; they always got weird, but cool, Muggle gifts. Mum seemed to like when Rose and Hugo got some exposure to the Muggle world, and Rose wondered why they only visited twice a year.

 

She was ready early that morning, and came downstairs to see Dad with his hand on Mum’s shoulder. They were talking in low, serious voices, but Rose couldn’t hear what they were saying. The moment they saw her, of course, they stopped talking and acted like nothing was going on.   
  
“Rosie, how’s Hugo this morning? Will he be ready soon?” Mum asked.   
  
Rose shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not even sure if he’s awake.” Her little brother had been avoiding her ever since the Christmas holidays had started. She wished she knew why, but even at the best of times you could never really be sure what was going on inside Hugo’s head.   
  
“I’d better go check on him,” Mum said. She headed up the stairs, leaving Rose and her father alone together for the first time since she’d gotten back.   
  
Since that disastrous first night, Rose had avoided her father as best she could. A few times, he’d knocked on her bedroom door. When she didn’t answer, he spoke through the door, telling her that he was sorry and that he loved her. Besides that, they hadn’t had any contact.   
  
Rose kept her eyes on the floor as she made her way towards the kitchen. Nana and Grandpa Granger always had a big breakfast ready, but if Hugo wasn’t up yet it might be a while before they left, and Rose was hungry  _ now _ ...  
  
Oh, who was she kidding? She just didn’t want to be in the same room as Dad.   
  
“Rosie, wait,” he said quietly.   
  
Rose paused, undecided about what to do. She compromised by standing in place, but refusing to look in his direction. She kept her eyes trained on the floor near the kitchen door.   
  
“Rosie, I’m very sorry about yelling at you the way I did,” Dad told her.   
  
What was she supposed to say to that? ‘It’s okay’? It wasn’t. She settled for just nodding in response.   
  
“I was wrong to speak to you like that,” her father continued. “It’s just hard for me sometimes.”   
  
“And you think it’s  _ not _ hard for me?” Rose answered, still not looking at him.   
  
“I know it is,” Dad said. “I’m sorry for making things worse. It’s just, the friends you’ve chosen--”   
  
“Most of my House mates have Slytherin parents,” Rose told the kitchen door. “Okay, a couple have parents who attended Durmstrang. So what do you want me to do? Go through Hogwarts friendless?”   
  
“Of course I don’t want you to be friendless, Rosie.”   
  
“Then what  _ is  _ it you think I should do?”   
  
He didn’t seem to have a ready answer to that. After several moments of silence, Rose resumed her trek to the kitchen.   
  
“Rosie... please be careful,” said her father. “I know it’s your house and you’re proud of it, but I worry. There are a lot of bullies in Slytherin.”   
  
Rose raised her eyebrows. She turned on her heel and, for the first time since the first night she got back, she looked her father right in the eye.   
  
“In my year,  _ I’m _ the leader of the Slytherin girls,” she told him coolly, but with a hint of pride. “ _ I _ decide if my girls do any bullying.”   
  
Her Dad was rendered speechless. He just stared at her, his mouth moving soundlessly. He looked, Rose thought a bit meanly, like a fish.   
  
“Oh, and the leader of the boys?” she added. “That’s Scorpius Malfoy. So I don’t think I need to worry too much about bullies--he’s a friend of mine, you know.”   
  
It wasn’t really a lie. Sure, Scorpius wasn’t one of her  _ best  _ friends, but he was extremely close to both Liatris and Tony, so they spent a fair bit of time together and got on fine when they did. More to the point, it was completely true that Scorpius wouldn’t set bullies on Rose.   
  
But of course, none of that changed the fact that she’d said it almost exclusively because she knew it would upset her father. And, judging from the look on his face, she’d succeeded with flying colours.   
  
Before he could gather his thoughts enough to respond, she spun around again, and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later, Mum came downstairs with Hugo in tow, so her father never got a chance to continue the conversation before they left.   
  
\--

 

“Rosie! Hugo!”   
  
Rose and her brother were greeted by their grandparents with hugs and effusive welcomes.   
  
“How are you, sweetie?” Nana Granger asked as she released Rose from a hug. She kept hold of Rose’s shoulders and held her at arms length, looking her granddaughter up and down. “You’ve grown so much!”   
  
“I’m okay,” Rose said, with a tentative smile.   
  
“Just okay?” Nana asked, but Rose couldn’t say more just then, since she and her grandmother were blocking the door, and had to move.   
  
“Hermione. Ron.” Nana and Grandpa Granger nodded at Mum and Dad as they entered the house.   
  
Rose had never noticed it before, but... that was kind of weird, wasn’t it? Nana and Grandpa were so happy and enthusiastic when they welcomed Rose and Hugo, but when it came to Mum and Dad, they sounded stiff and formal... almost  _ cold _ .   
  
But Rose didn’t have a chance to think about it too much before everyone was ushered into the dining room and presented with a huge Christmas Eve brunch. Then there were presents, and Muggle movies, and Rose completely forgot that she’d noticed anything unusual.  
  
After spending the day with the Granger grandparents, their family and the Potters had dinner together, with plentiful dessert and candy.  Up until now, the kids drank cocoa while the adults enjoyed hot mulled wine. But last year, when James had finally entered Hogwarts, he was allowed half a mug of wine, and this year, Rose and Albus were also given that privilege.   
  
“Thank you,” Rose said quietly, clutching the mug as her Aunt Ginny ladled her some wine. She stuck close by Al as he wandered into the sitting room. She dawdled on the way, stopping him to chat about random things. But the house was only so big and it wasn’t that far from the kitchen to the living room.   
  
“Wait,” she whispered, as Al began to head over to the couches.  
  
He stopped and turned to look at his cousin. “What is it?” he asked.   
  
Usually the parents and the children all mingled together on Christmas Eve, but this year Rose didn’t want to be over there. Things with her Mum were pretty good, but everything was still awkward with Dad, and Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry... she just didn’t know.   
  
She wondered if they were talking about what she’d told Dad that morning. Rose hadn’t planned whether or not to tell her family that she was considered a ‘leader’ in Slytherin house, and now she wished she hadn’t. She was pretty sure that, had she really been in control of her emotions, it was not something she’d have mentioned.   
  
And she  _ definitely  _ hadn’t intended to bring up Scorpius Malfoy.  
  
“I-- I’d rather not sit with our parents, this year,” she said quietly.   
  
“What’s going on?” A bright voice piped up from beside Rose, who jumped in surprised, almost spilling her mulled wine.   
  
It was Lily, of course. The younger girl had practically glued herself to Rose’s side the moment she’d arrived at the Potters’ house, but for once it didn’t seem annoying. The younger girl was delighted by the attention of this favourite older cousin she idolized, and she was excellent at keeping parental tension at bay. She seemed the only one not at all affected by Rose's status as Slytherin.   
  
“Rose doesn’t want to sit with our parents,” Albus said, quietly.   
  
“Oh,” Lily whispered. “Because of the House thing?”   
  
“Something like that,” Rose murmured.   
  
A new voice spoke up. “Well, let’s have our own party then!”   
  
Rose whirled to see James standing behind her.   
  
“Our own party?” she asked.   
  
“Sure. Why not?” He shrugged. “We can go to my room.”   
  
“I’ll go get Hugo,” Lily said, bouncing off to where the parents were settling down. Hugo was already with them, having apparently missed the rest of the cousins as they gathered in the corner.   
  
Christmas music was playing loudly, so Rose couldn’t hear what they were saying from across the room. Lily grabbed Hugo’s hand, but he glanced over at the cousins and pulled away, to Lily’s visible surprise. To Rose’s shock, Hugo climbed into Dad’s lap, even though he really was too old for that kind of thing.   
  
Rose guessed that Lily was telling him exactly that, judging from the exasperated look on her cousin’s face and the defensive one on her brother’s. Lily tried one last time to wheedle Hugo, but he just shook his head fiercely, wrapping his arms around Ron’s neck.   
  
Lily rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air, giving up. She said something to the grown-ups, grabbed her mug of cocoa from the table, and headed back over to where Rose, Albus and James were standing.   
  
“He won’t come!” she exclaimed, sounding annoyed.   
  
“Why not?” Al asked.   
  
“Oh, who knows.” Lily put one hand on her hip as she shook her head in irritation. “He’s just being ridiculous. Anyway, I told everyone we’re going to James’s room for a while, and they said okay.”   
  
Rose could hardly believe her luck. When she’d told Albus to wait, she’d expected to end up dragged over to the couches in the name of family togetherness. Instead, she and her cousins were going upstairs, just the four of them, where the grown-ups couldn’t even  _ see _ them!   
  
She could hardly get up the stairs fast enough.   
  
It would probably be unfair to call James’s room a  _ pigsty _ \-- she was sure a lot of boys his age were a lot messier. But Rose had inherited her organizational skills from her mother, so her own idea of ‘disorganized’ was when she left her books open on the desk because she wasn’t finished studying. But this time, she didn’t mention anything as they entered, which apparently surprised James.  
  
“What, no exclamations of disgust?” he asked, as they settled on his bed. “No scolding me over the state of my bedroom?”   
  
Rose laughed. “That would hardly be fair, would it, given you rescued me from our parents?” she pointed out. “Besides, Liatris isn’t the neatest person in the world, and she’s in the bed next to mine at Hogwarts. So I’m getting used to seeing clutter around.”   
  
“Liatris... is that the blonde one?”   
  
Rose and Albus both nodded.   
  
James quirked his lips. “I’ll have to remember to thank her.”  
  
“One of your House mates?” Lily asked eagerly.   
  
“Of course.” Rose laughed. “Did you think she could be in the bed next to mine if she were a Hufflepuff?”   
  
Lily blushed, and Rose leaned over to bump shoulders with her gently. Her cousin looked over at her and smiled.   
  
“So what’s Hogwarts like?!” she demanded.   
  
“What, haven’t James and Albus filled you in?”   
  
“Well, yeah, about life in  _ Gryffindor _ ,” Lily said, waving a hand dismissively. “Mum and Dad already told me plenty about that. What’s Hogwarts like for  _ you _ ?”  
  
Rose hesitated, and took a sip of her wine to buy herself a moment to think.  
  
She’d always been very close to her Potter cousins. They spent so much time together, they were more like siblings than cousins, really. Even when Rose and James didn’t get along, she viewed him more as an annoying older brother than anything.   
  
But after that confrontation with her father that morning, she’d been becoming increasingly nervous about sharing too much of her Slytherin self with her family.   
  
She lowered the mug from her lips and said, grinning, “Sorry, but unlike Gryffindors,  _ we _ know a little thing called ‘discretion.’ I’m not about to give away House secrets!”   
  
Luckily, this successfully redirected the conversation towards good-natured teasing about House rivalries, and who would win the Quidditch cup, which led to just talking about Quidditch.   
  
Rose would have to be careful from now on, she realized. She was coming into herself as a Slytherin, but she couldn’t show that side of herself to her family. When she was with the Weasleys (the Potters were considered part of the group, even if it wasn’t technically their surname), she had to be sure to be  _ Weasley _ Rose, rather than  _ Slytherin  _ Rose.   
  
She paid enough attention to her cousins to joke and laugh with them, but only half her mind was on them. The other half was deep in thought.   
  
Rose couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid that morning. She’d  _ known _ she shouldn’t talk about her Slytherin life with her family! If she’d decided those sorts of things were best left unsaid with her mother, well, that was double--triple--a million times more true for Dad! 

 

From now on, she promised herself. Her Slytherin life would stay at Hogwarts, with her Slytherin friends. Her Weasley life would stay at home, or when she was with her cousins far, far away from the Slytherin dungeons. There was no other way to do it.

 

No matter how angry she got at her father, she couldn’t  _ do _ things like that, things like mentioning Scorpius or other details of her life as a Slytherin that she knew would upset him. She couldn’t let her anger get the best of her. She was better than that.

 

It was ironic-- in order to fit in with the Weasleys, she would have to use everything that was most Slytherin about her, namely, her cunning, her manipulation, and her ability to mask her emotions. And what would most stand in her way in that endeavor was nothing other than the most Weasley thing about Rose: her temper.  
  
Much as she dreaded any ramifications from what she’d said to her father this morning, she was glad that she’d come to this conclusion  _ now _ , before the big, entire-Weasley-family celebration at the Burrow that would take place tomorrow. Imagine if she went around acting like her Slytherin self around the entire Weasley clan! It would be disastrous.   
  
Her resolve set, she refocused her attention on her cousins, laughing as James prepared to sneak downstairs and get another mug of wine.   
  
“Want any?” he asked.   
  
Albus shook his head, but Rose cocked her head to the side and considered.   
  
“Sure,” she said. “That sounds good.”   
  
James grinned. “Awesome choice, Rosie.”   
  
Five minutes later he was back, with two full mugs of wine, and apparently without getting caught. He grinned and held up his mug, and they clinked their cups together.   
  
The wine was delicious, and its warmth seemed to spread through Rose, and she relaxed even further. They all were really having a marvelous time. Lily was ecstatic when Rose let her have a few sips from her mug.   
  
Eventually, it got quite late, and Rose heard Dad’s voice calling from downstairs.   
  
“Kids?” he yelled.“You’ll have to break up the party for now. It’s after eleven, and time to get to bed. Come on, Rosie.”   
  
Rose was sad to leave, as the evening with her Potter cousins had been fun, and the most comfortable she’d felt since Christmas holidays had begun. She hugged them goodbye, feeling very glad that they’d all be there tomorrow at the Burrow.  
  
The next morning they had a big Christmas breakfast-- Rose suspected that it was secretly provided by Aunt Ginny, delivered before they were awake and kept under a heating charm-- and opened all the presents under the tree.  
  
Usually this was one of the best parts, but this year Rose's dread of the rest of the day, always spent at the Burrow, put a damper on most of Christmas morning.  It hung over the whole morning, regardless of how delighted she was with the stack of thick books with spells and theory well above first year level (from Mum) or the new SilverBullet 3.0 broom, which technically wasn't released for sale for another week (from Dad).     
  
When she’d opened  _ that _ gift, her mouth dropped open and her eyes became as wide as saucers.  
  
“In Merlin’s name!” Rose breathed. “Dad! Thank you so much! This is...  _ wow _ !”  
  
She took a time out from ignoring her father to squeal and hug him, because the broom was a pretty amazing gift.   
  
If she were being uncharitable, she might think to herself that he’d bought it before he’d heard about her friendship with Peony; but it wasn’t like he could have bought it before he found out she was a Slytherin. It proved he’d  _ intended  _ to be supportive, and that wasn’t nothing. Plus, after their fight yesterday, he could have just not put it under the tree last night.   
  
After that, they spent the morning in an unspoken but obvious truce.   
  
But all too soon, it was time to get ready to go to the Burrow.  Rose dressed as slowly as she could, dawdling as she removed her pyjamas and changed into holiday clothes. She took more care than was strictly necessary as she packed the gifts for her cousins (as well as a few of her new books) into a bag.  
  
“Rosie! Come on, we'll be late!” Mum yelled from downstairs, and reluctantly Rose picked up her bag and trudged down the stairs, stopping by the sofa to grab her new broom as well.    
  
“Rosie, do you really have to wear that?” Dad asked, with a sigh.    
  
Rose looked down at the green-and-silver scarf wrapped around her neck.  She considered playing dumb and asking what was wrong with her robes, but dismissed the idea.    
  
“Yes,” she said shortly.  “It's cold out, and we'll be playing Quidditch.” She may be hiding her Slytherin personality, but no way was she going to pretend she was  _ ashamed _ of her House.  
  
Dad looked like he wanted to argue, but although he didn’t look happy about it, he restrained himself. Mum put one hand on Dad’s shoulder and her other on Rose’s.  
  
“We're already late,” she said.  “Come on.”  
  
The moment Rose stepped out of the fireplace in the Burrow, she felt as tense as though she'd entered a battleground.  She glanced around and assessed the room quickly.  After depositing her gifts under the Christmas tree, Rose headed over to the fold-out chairs near the stairwell, on the far side of the room from the kitchen.    
  
Aunt Fleur was not usually Rose's favourite of all the aunts, but she'd attended Beauxbatons, so chances were she couldn't care less which House Rose was in. Uncle Bill was one of the most easy-going of the Weasleys, and of course, Victoire and especially Dominique had already been supportive. Yes—that branch of the family was probably her best bet.

 

“Rosie!” Uncle Bill exclaimed, standing up to give her a big hug. He eyed her scarf with more amusement than anything. “How's my favourite Slytherin?”

 

Rose grinned at this welcome. “Much better after hearing you say that,” she admitted. “Happy Christmas, you lot!”

 

“ 'Ello, darling,” Aunt Fleur answered. Louis, their youngest son, murmured something in his dreamy, distracted way. Rose decided to interpret it as a greeting.

 

Victoire was distracted as well as she smiled, “Happy Christmas.” But unlike her brother, her attention was focused on something specific, namely, the object still clutched in Rose's hands. Dominique wasn't just distracted by it; she seemed at first unable to speak, simply staring, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

 

“Dominique?” Rose asked, a little amused. “Anybody home?”

 

“Is that—are you holding—that's the new SilverBullet model, isn't it?!” Dominique exclaimed.

 

“The three-point-oh, yep,” Rose agreed. “I just got it this morning.” 

 

“Jealous!” Dominique exclaimed. 

 

“I'm surprised Ron bought that for you, considering it might be used in a year or two to help Slytherin beat Gryffindor,” Uncle Bill said, voice full of suppressed laughter. 

 

Rose snickered. “You know, I don't think that's occurred to him yet.”

 

“Well, we'll all know when it does.” Uncle George spoke up from behind Rose, who jumped in surprise. "They'll be able to hear his scream in China.” 

 

“Uncle George!” Rose exclaimed, throwing his arms around her favourite uncle. 

 

He hugged her back. “Mind you, I might shed a few tears if my niece is ever the reason Gryffindor loses to Slytherin,” he warned her.

 

Just then she was startled by a shriek across the room, and she whirled around. Her alarm faded as she realized that it had been a happy shriek—Lucy and Roxie were rough-housing again. Roxie appeared to have stolen one of Lucy's new toys, and both girls were laughing as Lucy tried to wrestle her doll back. Roxie managed to wriggle away, and she took off across the room, with her cousin in hot pursuit.

 

“Roxanne, don’t steal your cousin’s toys,” Uncle George called half-heartedly to his daughter.

 

Rose raised her eyebrows. “Lucy doesn’t seem to mind.”

 

She watched fondly as Roxie fled through the back door, Lucy following close behind, both of them giggling madly. Considering Molly's disposition, it was surprising her seven-year-old sister could be so good-humoured about the toy theft.

 

“ _ Lucy _ doesn’t,” George answered. “She never does. But Percy always gets snippy if I don’t at least pretend to reprimand Roxie. He has trouble understanding that his daughter has a sense of humor, not having one himself.”

 

“Well, that _ one _ of his daughters has a sense of humor.” Dominique rolled her eyes, and Rose grinned at her.

 

“Well, one daughter who might grow up to be an okay person is better than  _ none, _ anyway,” Rose pointed out.

 

“You're  _ really _ unhappy with Molly,” Uncle George noted.

 

“She told me I should be ashamed of being a Slytherin and basically that all of my new friends are Death Eaters. So she's not exactly my favourite person, no,” Rose answered. “Though to be fair, if she hadn't been such a prat, I doubt everyone else would have accepted it so... eagerly.” 

 

“She certainly is her father's daughter, isn't she?” Uncle George snickered. 

 

Rose tilted her head to the side questioningly.

 

Uncle Bill sighed. “Your Uncle Percy, as a child, also had a way of alienating others with his uptight ways,” he explained, somewhat reluctantly.

 

“‘As a child’?” Uncle George repeated, with an eye roll. “As opposed to now, when he still tells me I'm squandering my life with my 'stupid joke shop'? Never mind that I make twice his annual salary in a month.”

 

“And bring a whole lot more joy to life,” added Rose, who honestly couldn't imagine the world without Weasley Wizarding Wheezes products.   
  
\--  
  
The next few hours were some of the most awkward of Rose’s life. Nobody  _ said  _ anything, nothing overt anyway, but not all of her family members were as nonchalant as those in that corner. Several times, she was sure she heard the word “Malfoy” cropping up in some of the adults’ whispered conversations, but twirl as she might she never actually located a source. Even if her House made them uncomfortable, Rose couldn’t believe that so many adults didn’t even seem to  _ attempt  _ to hide it from her.  
  
For the first time in her life, she looked around at the people who filled the Burrow, and she felt like an outsider.   
  
Even as they opened presents and ate her Grandmum Weasley’s excellent Christmas dinner, all Rose could think was how much she wanted it to be time for the family Quidditch match. She just knew all her worries would be swept from her mind just as soon as she was flying through the air on her broom.   
  
Besides, being out in the yard playing Quidditch with a team sounded a lot more appealing than being inside the house feeling like an intrude r.   
  
_ Finally _ , Uncle Charlie announced it was time for the game.. Rose grabbed her broomstick (which hadn't left her side since she'd gotten it), pulled on her winter robes, tied on her scarf, and ran for the door. Albus was close behind her.   
  
“You’re so lucky,” he griped. “I can’t believe you actually have your own broom now! I still have to use old discarded ones.”   
.  
“Oh, yes, that old, discarded broom your Mum used when she played for the Holyhead Harpies,” Rose pointed out, with a laugh. “It’s a professional model!”  
  
Albus, refusing to be placated, just rolled his eyes. “It  _ was _ ,” he corrected. “Like, twenty years ago.”   
  
Aunt Ginny apparently overheard the last part, and she punched Al lightly in the shoulder.   
  
“Twenty years?” Aunt Ginny asked. “Just how old do you think I am, anyway?”   
  
Al just folded his arms. “You know what I mean,” he said, apparently of the opinion that as he hadn’t gotten a broom for Christmas, he didn’t owe his mum any apologies.    
  
Rose just grinned.. “Be nice and I'll give you a turn riding it,” she told him.  
  
Though Al still grumbled something about it not being fair, he couldn't stop his eyes from lighting up at the prospect of getting to ride a SilverBullet 3.0.  
  
“Alright then, let's choose teams!” Uncle Charlie exclaimed, clapping his hands and rubbing them together.  
  
Lily insisted that she wanted to play that year, which brought the number of players to thirteen and made the teams uneven. There was some squabbling until Victoire went back into the Burrow and convinced Uncle Bill to play as well.  
  
“Which makes two teams of seven!” Victoire announced, with satisfaction. “We actually have enough for two full teams, for the first time ever!”  
  
It took some time and some flooing to a couple of houses to grab extra brooms, but they rustled up enough. This Christmas, it was Aunt Ginny and Uncle Charlie’s turns to be  team captains.  
  
Back several years ago, there had been some worry about choosing teams, since it might hurt the younger children to be chosen last. It had been a problem until Mum suggested that if one of the cousins was young enough to throw a temper tantrum at being picked last, then he or she was too young to play in the family Quidditch game.  
  
Now the younger kids looked as cheerful as they possibly could, no matter when they were chosen. Rose couldn't really see what the big deal was, anyway. Sure, the adults might choose each other based on ability, but once it was time to choose the cousins, it was pretty strictly oldest to youngest.  
  
Rose ended up on Uncle Charlie's team, with Uncle Harry, Aunt Angelina, Uncle Bill, Dominique, and Fred. Some of the family had to rotate positions to get time in their favourite, but luckily, Beater wasn't that popular and Rose could whack Bludgers at people to her heart's content.  
  
Aunt Ginny managed to capture the Snitch within the first ten minutes of the first game. While Rose was disappointed that her team lost, it  _ did  _ mean this would be a best-of tournament, and she always enjoyed it when they played multiple games.   
  
“Okay, same rules as usual,” Uncle Charlie announced. “The scores from each game don’t carry over, just a tally of who won and who lost. If the third game isn’t finished by seven o’clock, it’s best of three. If we’re at the fourth or fifth game by seven, it’s best of five... and so on. Any questions?”   
  
There weren’t. The next game took a bit longer, but it was only half an hour before Uncle Harry snagged the Snitch and the victory for their team. The score was one to one, and it wasn’t even five o’clock yet.  
  
Rose was playing against her Dad, but then all of them were playing against immediate family members. She suspected Uncle Charlie took perverse pleasure in splitting the families up when he could, but just now she really didn't mind slamming balls at her father as hard as she could. It felt therapeutic, actually. After his blow up that horrible first day back, her father had done his best to be nice, but things were far from mended.  
  
Still, Rose was shocked at her intense satisfaction as one of her Bludgers hit right on target, and Dad was thrown off his broom. He managed to keep grip with his hands, and hauled himself back onto the broom with a grimace at Rose, but it had been so great, hitting that big ball at him with so much force and seeing it collide and slam into him with an audible 'thunk'...  
  
Rose was possibly harbouring more resentment for her father than she'd admitted to herself.  
  
The third game Rose’s team won as well, with Uncle Charlie capturing the Snitch easily. The fourth game, however, went on forever. That was partly due to Rose’s efforts. James was playing Seeker for the other team, and twice when it seemed he was about to nab the Snitch, Rose managed to knock him over with a Bludger so he missed his mark. She just grinned when her cousin scowled at her. After last night, Rose was feeling fonder of James than she’d ever been before, but everyone knew you couldn’t let something like that affect how you played Quidditch.   
  
Unfortunately, though Rose’s team generally had the better Seekers, Aunt Ginny’s team had the best Chasers, and Uncle Bill, on Rose’s team, was only middling as a Keeper. As the game dragged on, the other team racked up more and more points. When Uncle Harry finally caught the Snitch, their team was aghast to realize that, even with the 150 points that came with the little golden ball, they’d lost the game by just ten points, 210 to 200.   
  
Seven o’clock was approaching, so they knew the fifth game would be their last. Whichever team won the next game would be the Christmas winners.   
  
Fred tried to convince the team that they should put in their strongest Seekers, either Uncle Harry or Uncle Charlie, but the grown-ups insisted that it was a friendly game and that everyone should get a chance to play their preferred position. Since Dominique had made the Gryffindor team that year as a Seeker, she should have the honor of playing her position in the deciding game.   
  
Rose might have agreed with Fred if she hadn’t liked Dominique so much; but given her extreme affection for her boy-crazy, outspoken cousin, she had no objection to letting her play Seeker for this last game.   
  
It turned out not to matter anyway. After a fierce match lasting nearly an hour, Dominique spotted the Snitch and immediately threw herself into spectacularly steep and fast dive. The Snitch was darting around, just out of her reach, as she pulled her broom back to a more horizontal position, and Albus wasn’t far behind her in his quest to catch the Snitch.   
  
Hooking her legs around the broom tightly, Dominique, chasing after the little ball all the while, swung herself in a circle, upside-down and back up again. On her second pass, she cupped her right hand around the Snitch and, once she was upright again, clapped her left hand over top of it.   
  
They’d won!  
  
“That move was amazing!” Rose cried, as Dominique did several celebratory loops through the air. Her cousin grinned at her, and they flew by each other to high-five.  
  
“Thanks!” Dominique exclaimed.  
  
“You  _ have _ to teach me how to do that.”  
  
“Sorry, no can do!” Dominique said. “I love you, Rosie, but no way am I training up a future Slytherin opponent.”  
  
Rose stopped cold, and stared as her beautiful cousin soared by, her laughter chiming like bells, long hair flowing behind. She didn't even realize she'd said anything wrong-- telling Rose she was sure to make the team was a compliment, after all.  
  
Dominique's hair was a pure, Veela-style platinum blonde--unless you saw it glinting in the sunlight. The sun had already set, but it seemed the radiantly bright lights her family had conjured up to illuminate the field were enough reveal the shining red highlights that rippled through her hair.   
  
The fiery red and golden streaks looked, to Rose, like insults meant just for her.  _ I’m a  _ real  _ Weasley,  _ they seemed to say. And really, red with hints of gold? Even Weasley  _ hair  _ was in Gryffindor colours!  
  
As rest of her team celebrated the victory, Rose just sat there, hovering in the air, unable to move.  
  
Even when playing Quidditch... even  _ Dominique _ ...  
  
My  _ hair’s the  _ real  _ Weasley red, _ Rose thought, irrelevantly.   
  
Quidditch was supposed to be her refuge, and Dominique had been so nice, so understanding... but even she saw Rose as an outsider. None of the Weasleys would ever have dreamed of refusing to teach one of their cousins a new Quidditch skill. Until now.  
  
Rose felt tears welling up behind her eyes, and she cursed them. How could she be so childish! So immature! Crying because her cousin wouldn't show her a Quidditch move...  
  
But try as she might, Rose knew that she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears. She didn't want anyone to see her cry. They might be her family, but she didn't belong anymore, and she never would again. Well, fine-- let them keep her out. She'd just keep them out, too, that was all.  
  
And she'd be damned if they saw how much it upset her.  
  
So while her team mates were celebrating, and the other team were getting off their brooms looking disappointed, Rose angled her broom and zoomed towards the ground. Quick as she could, she ducked around the house and leaned forward. The SilverBullet really was incredibly fast-- in a matter of moments she was in the woods, dodging her way between trees as she flew in the dark, hoping nobody had noticed her fly off. Or, if they had, not soon enough to come after her.  
  
She flew until it was too hard to see through her tears, and she was afraid she might hit something. Abruptly, she halted and dropped her broom. This was no graceful dismount; the bright, new broom fell against the ground as Rose collapsed beside it, lying in whatever way her body happened to crumble. Something was poking into her side and she felt frozen dirt against her cheek, but she couldn't be bothered to move. She just cried and cried.  
  
If only her friends saw her now-- the great leader of the Slytherin girls! What a joke  _ that  _ was. If any of them saw her like this, lying on the ground sobbing her eyes out, they'd see her for what she was: a pathetic loser who couldn't even keep control of herself, let alone others. They'd know she was nothing but a fake, who had somehow, by sheer luck, managed to...  
  
_ No.  
  
_ Rose sat up.  
  
Peony and Liatris and Tony... they were her friends. Good, true friends. If they saw her right now, they would offer comfort, not disdain.   
  
She wiped at her tears. They were still falling, but more slowly now, drops rather than streams running down her face.  
  
And she wasn't a fake! Rose was  _ good  _ at being a Slytherin. She was great at it! She'd gotten what every Slytherin is supposed to want-- power-- and she'd done it without even trying. Luck didn't last four months.  
  
She hadn't accidentally gotten power and the Slytherins' respect just because she'd  _ stumbled _ into it. It may have been accidental, but that was because it was effortless. Scorpius, smart and charismatic as he was, had needed to plot and scheme in order to take over. But she, Rose Weasley, had just...  _ done _ it. Simple and easy as breathing, and requiring about as much forethought.  
  
Well, her father was right about one thing: House mattered.  
  
The Sorting Hat's decision had changed  _ everything _ .  
  
She couldn't trust her family. She loved them, and they loved her, but they'd always keep her at arms length. They'd look over at her from the corner of their eye, and think,  _ She's not  _ really  _ a Weasley.  
  
But they can’t reject me _ _ if I beat them to it! _   
  
She felt triumphant and empty as she thought of it.   
  
They'd be polite to each other, of course, but she had to close herself off. She had to stop caring about being a part of the Weasley clan. Her heart belonged in Slytherin now. She didn't need these people to love her; she had her friends. She had a new home now, and it would be every bit as good as the old one. Better even.  
  
Rose stood up, wiping the last of the tears from her face. She picked up her broom and carefully brushed it off, and cast some glamours to hide any evidence she’d been crying.  
  
And, she resolved, as she remounted her broom, she'd beat them at Quidditch. Maybe Beaters weren't seen as the reason for a victory, but she'd find a way. Knock Dominique off her broom right before she'd have caught the snitch, maybe.  
  
Rose lifted off the ground, and rose above the trees this time; partly because she didn't want to dodge trunks and shrubs again, and partly because she wasn't quite sure which direction the Burrow was. Once she was above the leafless winter trees and dark pines, it was simple to see where to go. It was dark out, but as those lights outside the Burrow still shining, that just made it even easier to find.  
  
Once Rose was on the team, Slytherin would beat Gryffindor out for the Cup every year. And Rose would go up there with her team and accept it, and celebrate. She didn't need any help from Dominique.  
  
She didn't need help from any of her family.  
  
It was with that resolve that she made her way back to the Burrow.   
  
“Rosie!” called Albus as soon as he saw her fly up. “Where did you go? You promised I could take a spin on your broom!”   
  
Despite herself, Rose couldn’t help smiling a little at his eagerness. She landed beside him and relinquished the SilverBullet. As she watched the delight in his eyes as he mounted it and pushed off the ground, she felt an unexpected-- and unwanted-- wave of fondness wash over her.   
  
Oh, who was she kidding? She couldn’t just stop caring about Albus. He was her best friend. She’d promised him that wouldn’t change if he were Sorted into Slytherin, and she knew he didn’t want it to change when it had happened to her, instead.   
  
Well, maybe she could make an exception for Al.   
  
“Rosie!”   
  
Rose turned to see Dominique jogging up to her. She made sure to keep her expression completely neutral.   
  
“Where’d you go off to?” Dom wanted to know.   
  
“Just wanted to try the SilverBullet in the woods,” Rose answered, allowing her face to betray nothing.. “It definitely gives you practice dodging.”   
  
“Especially after dark like this!” Dominique agreed. “You know, Rosie, you were pretty amazing out there. You’re going to make one hell of a Beater once you’re on the Slytherin team. Give the rest of us a real run for our money.”   
  
“We don’t even know if I’ll  _ make _ the team,” Rose pointed out.  
  
“Are you kidding?” Dominique asked, putting her hands on her hips. “Of course you will! Maybe not next year, because neither of the Slytherin Beaters are Seventh Years. But definitely in your third year, once Davies is gone. You’re  _ amazing _ .”   
  
Rose blushed, not sure what to say. What would Rose the Weasley Family Member do?   
  
She settled on a simple, “Thanks, Dom.”   
  
“Al! Rosie! Dominique!” A voice called from inside the Burrow. Rose and Dominique turned; Uncle Harry was standing in the doorway.   
  
“What are you kids still doing outside?” he asked. “Supper’s ready. Aren’t you hungry after all that Quidditch?”   
  
“But Dad!” Albus whined from far above their heads. “I’m still testing out the SilverBullet!”   
  
“I’m sure Rosie will let you use it plenty more times,” Uncle Harry answered. He rolled his eyes and smiled warmly at Rose, his green eyes laughing.   
  
Rose, a little taken aback at such familiar behavior after all she’d been thinking in the woods, couldn’t help but smile back at her uncle.   
  
“I promise, Al,” she yelled up towards the sky. “Next time you visit, or vice versa.”   
  
“Oh, fine,” he grumbled. He landed and relinquished the broom to Rose, reluctantly.   
  
“Does that offer stand for me?” Dominique asked. “I’d love to take the three-point-oh for a spin.”   
  
Rose was, thankfully, spared from answering as Uncle Harry spoke again.   
  
“Come on, you three. Everyone’s waiting on you for supper.”   
  
As they made their way back into the Burrow, Dominique slipped her arm around Rose’s waist.  
  
“It was nice being together on a team,” she whispered warmly into Rose’s ear. “I wish we could be team mates at school. That’s the only real downside about the House thing.”   
  
Rose slipped her arm around Dominique’s waist as well. Okay, maybe she wouldn’t have to knock her cousin off her broom  _ every _ time Slytherin played Gryffindor.   
  
As she sat down, Rose looked around the room at all her family members again, talking and laughing and passing each other various dishes. Maybe she’d had the right idea yesterday. Really, if she thought about it, staying on good terms with them was the Slytherin to do. There was no point burning bridges, and the Weasleys  _ were _ a pretty important family these days.   
  
For them, she could be little Rosie, typical Weasley cousin. And in return, they’d never have to know Rose, rising star of Slytherin.  
  
She dug into her supper. Uncle Harry was right; after all that Quidditch (and crying), she was simply  _ starving _ .


	7. Snakes in the Walls

Chapter 7: Snakes in the Walls

 

“Thank _Merlin_ Christmas hols are over,” groaned Rose, as the train began to move. She fell, with a dramatic sigh of relief, into the seat beside Peony.

“You said it,” Peony agreed fervently. “I’m _so_ glad to be going back to Hogwarts.”

“What did your family do?” Rose asked, in a tone more appropriate for returning prisoners of war than for first year schoolgirls.

 “Ugh, just nonstop, I’m a disgrace to the family, I’m as good as a Muggle-lover, I have no pride in my bloodlines and I’ll bring shame on them all if I don’t change my ways, blah, blah, blah.” Peony sighed. “How about yours?”

 “They were just... I don’t know... I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Rose said. Suddenly, _‘Dad yelled at me then spent the rest of break apologizing, while my other family members were subtly uncomfortable with me and not very good at hiding it,’_ seemed like a rather silly reply.

 "Both of you need to just come to my house next time.”

 That came from Liatris, who was sitting across the compartment from them.

 Despite leaning on Al's support pretty heavily during the Christmas holidays, Rose still felt kind of torn regarding, well, everyone in her family. So when Asher had arrived to pull Al into one compartment, and Liatris leaned out to invite Rose into a different one, Rose had chosen to join Liatris with an awkward wave goodbye.

“I might just take you up on that.” Rose sighed and blew a stray lock of hair out of her eye. “If my parents ever let me stay with a Slytherin.”

Scorpius peeked his head into their compartment. “Room in here for three?” he asked. 

“Yep!” Liatris assured him happily. He came in and sat down, accompanied by Andrei and, to Rose’s delight, Tony Zabini.

“Tony!” she greeted him, doing her best to push away her worries. “How was break?”

All the friends started chatting with each other, and Rose smiled widely and leaned back. She’d been right, that awful day in the woods. _This_ was where she belonged. She felt safe and happy and accepted; she was surrounded by her three best friends, and she had no problems with Scorpius or Andrei, either. The train ride just flew by, and as they made their way from the Hogsmeade station up to the castle, even Aurelia’s poisonous looks couldn’t dampen Rose’s spirit. ~~  
~~  
Piles of delicious food appeared on the table in front of her, and as she and her friends began serving themselves, they continued filling each other in on their holiday activities. Rose’s present caused quite a stir.  
  
“A SilverBullet three-point-oh?!” Liatris exclaimed.  
  
“That’s a really good broom.” Even Andrei sounded impressed.  
  
“So when do we get to see it?” Liatris demanded.  
  
“When you come and visit me over break, or next year,” Rose said ruefully.  
  
“You mean you didn’t bring it with you?” Tony stared at her like she was crazy.  
  
“First years aren’t allowed to have brooms,” she pointed out.  
  
Liatris rolled her eyes. “Who cares? That only matters if you’re stupid enough to get caught.”  
  
Rose sighed. “Unfortunately, before I sneak it _into_ Hogwarts, I first have to sneak it _out_ of my house-- or rather, past my Mum. I’ll try again after Spring Break, I promise.”  
  
Her friends were still rather disgusted with her, or at least with the situation, but they let it go and moved onto new topics. 

As she crawled into her bed that night, Peony’s bed on one side, Liatris’s on the other, and Tony just across the hall, Rose was startled to find herself overwhelmed with a sense of homecoming.  
  
\--

 

“I have to tell you, Tony, I’m a bit insulted.”

Tony looked up, surprised by Peony’s words. “What?” he asked, bewildered. “Why?”

Rose was equally mystified. The three friends were in the common room, finishing some last-minute homework (or, in Rose’s case, reviewing the finished assignments for mistakes), when Peony had spoken out of the blue.

Peony smiled a little, to take the sting out. “You didn’t visit me over the holidays.”

“Uh... I didn’t know I was supposed to,” Tony answered, nervously.

“Well, not _supposed_ to. I just thought that since your father came to our house, that you’d come along with him,” she said.

Tony blinked. “When was my father at your house?”

It was Peony’s turn to look confused. “The day before Christmas eve,” she answered. “Didn’t you know?”

 He shook his head slowly. “He told us he had a business meeting that day.”

“Why is that so weird?” Rose spoke up. “I mean, he might have had a business meeting with Peony’s parents... right?”

 She trailed off uncertainly as she saw her friends shaking their heads, looking very confident that was impossible.

 “My father works for the Ministry, in International Magical Cooperation,” Tony explained. “He has no reason to do business with store owners.”

 “Why wouldn’t he tell you?” Peony wondered. “He knows we’re friends. And it’s not like with you, Rose. Tony and I being friends is considered entirely appropriate.” She smiled apologetically.

 Rose waved a hand. Peony hadn’t said anything she didn’t already know, after all, and this mystery was starting to sound interesting.

 "Was he the only one who came to your house?” Rose asked.

 Peony shook her head. “No, there was... I mean, I guess it was a holiday party? But now that I think about it, things were a little... odd.”

 She hesitated.

 “Odd how?” Tony finally prodded her.

 Peony shook her head and looked around. Nobody seemed to be listening, but this was Slytherin house. It wouldn’t do to discuss such things in the open.  
  
“I’ve heard about a new hidden room,” Rose murmured, catching on immediately. “Someone showed it to Marion over Christmas, and she told me about it.”  
  
This one wasn’t connected to the Common Room, but instead let in through a trap door towards the far end of the corridor towards the fifth year girls’ dormitory. Rose lifted her foot and brought it down four times upon one stone towards the side of the floor, once light one, twice hard, then once light again-- stomp STOMP STOMP stomp-- and a smallish, square hole appeared in the floor.  
  
“How many of these rooms _are_ there?” Tony wondered, as they climbed down the stone ladder.  
  
“No idea,” said Peony. “A lot, I think. I heard that some of these secret rooms have _other secret rooms attached to them_.”  
  
“Only in Slytherin.” Rose shook her head and laughed as she got to the bottom of the ladder and jumped down to the floor.  
  
“So what couldn’t you tell us in the Common Room?” Tony asked, settling into a chair. The room was dark, as there were no windows, and the only light came from torches lining the walls.  
  
“Oh, ah. Just the people who came to the Christmas party. They weren’t Mum’s usual friends,” she said slowly. “They were all purebloods, of course, but a lot of them weren’t up to her usual standards. Families who lost their fortune in the war, or were poor before that, or whose family names just aren’t impressive enough. You know the people I mean,” she said to Tony. “Most of them had never been in my house before, except your father and a few others.”

  
“Huh.” Tony’s forehead wrinkled in thought. “That _is_ really odd.”  
  
“What do you think it means?” Rose asked.  
  
Her two friends looked at each other and shrugged.  
  
“Haven’t the faintest idea,” Peony said.  
  
\--  
  
Rose attended the first couple of History of Magic classes of the new term, just in case she missed something important. As she’d expected, the very idea was silly. As she sat at the back of the classroom she couldn’t quite tune out Binns’s monotone, the sound of which somehow made studying for other classes seem boring as well. Finally she leaned back and looked around at the other students.  
  
Scorpius and Tony were right in front of her, and they were fairly earnestly whispering and scribbling out notes to each other. For lack of anyplace else to direct her attention, Rose leaned across the aisle to catch a glimpse of what Tony was writing about.  
  
To her surprise, the moment she tried peering over, Tony slammed his book down over the note and looked back at her sharply. Rose gave him a weird look, especially since his ink had been wet and covering it like that would smear the whole thing.  
  
“What’s your problem?” Rose whispered with an eye roll. “Do you really think I care if you’re passing notes? I don’t usually even attend this class.”  
  
“That was a private note from me to Scorpius,” Tony hissed back at her. “Just mind your own business.”  
  
Rose sat back, hurt. Tony saw her expression and looked apologetic, and then like he just didn’t know what to say or do. Finally he settled on a little shrug and a quiet, “I’m sorry,” before he turned back around to face the front.  
  
As that was the only interesting thing to happen in all of History of Magic, Rose subsequently resumed her usual habit of cutting that class. This time, however, she revealed her stash of copied notes to Peony, and asked if her best friend wanted to join her in the unsanctioned free period.  
  
“Absolutely!” Peony said. She grinned. “That class is _so boring_.”  
  
So it was decided. The next Monday, as Rose ducked away from the rest of her class on their way from Defense Against the Dark Arts to History of Magic, she grabbed Peony’s hand so they could escape together.  
  
“A break after Defense is exactly what I need,” Peony whispered happily.  
  
“Oh, I know, right?” Rose sighed. “I’m always so _annoyed_ after Defense. Bradley is such a prat.”  
  
“You’re not kidding,” Peony agreed. “So, what are we going to do during our free period?”  
  
The redhead shrugged. “I usually do whatever I do during my free time,” she answered. “Reading, homework, whatever.”  
  
“What?” Peony shook her head. “You shouldn’t cut class to read, _let alone_ do homework! You should do something interesting when you cut class.”  
  
“Like what?”  
  
She considered. “Like exploring the hidden rooms of Slytherin,” she suggested. “Minta gave me some hints on where to find some of the secret-rooms-inside-secret-rooms.”  
  
Actually, that _did_ sound quite interesting to Rose.

  
“I’ve actually found a book with a bunch of spells that might help,” she said. “I wonder if there are any accounts of the magic Slytherins used when they created all the secret places?”  
  
“There certainly wouldn’t be in the Hogwarts library,” Peony answered. “No self-respecting Slytherin would ever put our House business somewhere anyone could find it.”  
  
“Is there a special Slytherin library?”  
  
“Not that I know of,” said Peony. “But I mean, this is Slytherin we’re talking about. Anything’s possible. And of course, most of the old families have their own private library.”  
  
“So if anyone did write about creating these rooms, it’d be in a Slytherin family’s library?” Rose asked thoughtfully.  
  
“It’s the best place I can think of, anyway,” Peony answered. “So is that the book you were talking about?”  
  
Rose, who had been rummaging around in her trunk for the books she hadn’t yet unpacked onto her shelf, had just pulled out one of them with a satisfied expression.  
  
“Yes,” she said. “Where do you want to try first?”  
  
“Why not right here?” Peony suggested. “If there’s a secret room right in our dormitory, I want to know about it!”  
  
This was a solid point, so Rose opened up the book and leafed through until she found the page she was looking for.  
  
“ _Revelio_!” she intoned, flicking her wrist.  
  
Peony looked disappointed with nothing happened, but Rose just laughed.  
  
“Did you think it would be _that_ easy?” she asked. “Don’t worry, there are plenty more spells to try... and plenty more places to look.”  
  
Even Rose’s spirits flagged a bit as several months passed without any major breakthrough, but she wasn’t going to give up. At least along the way they’d found assorted hidden compartments here and there; nothing particularly exciting once they got past the thrill of discovery, but just cool enough to keep them going.  
  
By then, Peony and Tony had mostly forgotten about the mystery of the Greengrass family’s stranger holiday visitors. Without any new riddles to pour over, they seemed content to let it go, or at least stop thinking about it until they had reason.

Rose, on the other hand, found herself obsessing over it. Obviously something strange was going on, and if Peony's parents felt the need to keep it a secret, it could be pretty bad. It wasn't as though like they tried to censor themselves when it came to things generally considered “horrible” by decent people.

But how to figure out what they were doing? It's not like it was something she could look up in the library. How _had_ her parents and Uncle Harry learned enough about what was going on to foil plots, anyway?

“Do you think Professor Bole knows anything?” Rose asked one morning, as she and Peony were inspecting the Fourth Year boys’ dorm rooms in their mission to find Secret Things That Are Cool.

“I've told you, I don't know.” Peony sounded frustrated. Rose kept asking questions like this, even though it never really did any good. She just couldn't accept there was no way to learn what she wanted to know. “Yes, Aunt Daphne came to our house, but she _always_ does for Christmas, that’s not strange. And Aurelia’s parents were there too, but again, that’s normal.”

 “But the people who visited that _were_ out of place,” Rose persisted. “Some of them must have children. Did you know who any of them were? Do you know any that have children at Hogwarts?”

Peony sighed and looked up from her inspection of the boys’ wardrobes. She looked frustrated. “Probably, but I'm not sure. I mean, if I know someone's kids, then that's because it's normal for them to come to my house. So if I know who their children are, then they aren't the people who are suspicious.”

“I thought purebloods were all into knowing family lines and stuff like that?” Rose asked, as she readied her wand for the next revealing spell.

Her friend shrugged. “Not if they consider those families beneath them. Then it's not really worth knowing, now is it?”

 “That's a stupid way to do it,” Rose said crossly. “You never know when that knowledge is going to be useful.”

 “Go tell it to the Ravenclaws,” Peony smirked.  
  
  
\--  
  
Besides her clandestine quest with Peony, Rose’s life that winter was fairly uneventful, or at least as uneventful as is possible when living someplace like Hogwarts. She was doing well in all of her classes, of course. Professor Bole kept being nasty to Al and the other Gryffindors, and Professor Bradley kept pretending that Rose and the rest of the Slytherins didn’t exist.  
  
Tony and Scorpius seemed to be scheming something together, but that was only to be expected in Slytherin.  
  
She went to almost all the Weasley teas with Neville, and supposed she was getting on fairly well with the rest of her family. Molly didn’t say any more really nasty things to Rose, but then again she wasn’t really talking to Rose at all anymore. She seemed to get more and more agitated around her Slytherin cousin as time went by, rather than less, but with what was probably Herculean effort she kept her mouth shut.  
  
Never in Rose’s life, though, had she spent as little time with Albus as she did that winter. They found time to hang out now and then, but with different common rooms, a different class schedule, and a different circle of friends, it was an uphill battle.  
  
It was a little sad; Albus had been her best friend since they’d been in diapers, after all. So one evening she decided that her place in Slytherin was secure enough that she could sit with her cousin at the Gryffindor table during dinner.  
  
Peony and Liatris just shrugged when Rose told them that she’d be sitting with the Gryffindors that evening, but for some reason Tony and, bizarrely, Scorpius insisted on flanking her.  
  
“This really isn’t necessary,” Rose said. “Tony, you _like_ Al, you know I don’t need your protection.”  
  
“I do like Al,” Tony agreed. “Maybe I’m joining you because I’d like to hang out with him tonight, too.”  
  
“Well then, what’s your excuse?” she asked Scorpius. “You’re not friends with any of the Gryffindors.”  
  
“Exactly. I don’t trust them not to try something.”  
  
“Why do you even _care_ if they try something?” Rose asked. She and Scorpius got along just fine, but they really weren’t close enough to engender this kind of protectiveness from him.  
  
“I won’t let them mess with Slytherin, and messing with you is messing with all of us,” Scorpius said expansively. “I will defend the honor of our House.”  
  
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Why are you pretending to be a Gryffindor?” she asked.  
  
Scorpius looked affronted. “I’m doing no such thing!”  
  
Rose rolled her eyes and gave up. She let them follow her to the Gryffindor table.  
  
“Hi, Rose,” Al greeted her, looking a little confused. She hadn’t told him about her plans for this evening. He looked even more puzzled as he saw her companions. “Hey, Tony, and, uh, Scorpius. Uh, what’s up?”  
  
“Tony and I decided we’d like to eat with you at the Gryffindor table, if that’s okay,” Rose said.  
  
“Of course it is!” exclaimed Al, scooting over to make room. He hesitated slightly as he added, “And, uh, Scorpius too?”  
  
The blond boy grinned evilly as he took a seat and said, in an oddly pointed kind of way, “We Slytherins are a package. If you have Rose around, you get the rest of us, too.”  
  
Rose followed his gaze, and saw that he was smirking at Molly, an eyebrow raised in smug challenge.  
  
Molly turned red and pointed looked away from him. Rose could see a vein throbbing on her head, as usually happened to a furious Weasley.  
  
“Scorpius,” she said, with a frown.  
  
“What?” he asked, the picture of innocence.  
  
She just sighed.  
  
She meant to talk to him later, and tell him that it wasn’t funny to bait Molly like that. But she kept feeling awkward about scolding him about that-- because he was the leader of the boys, because actually it _was_ rather funny, and especially because he had every right to be hurt by what she’d said.  
  
So Rose just let it go.

  
\--

 

“I can’t believe how cold it is!” Peony exclaimed, shivering as they entered the empty common room. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself.  
  
“They really need to heat the dungeons better,” Rose agreed. “But at least the fireplace is open!”  
  
The friends scrambled to situate themselves as close to the roaring fire as possible.  
  
Rose looked over the fireplace with absent-minded interest as they chatted. She didn’t often get the chance to sit by it for very long, since in the wintertime the dungeons got quite chilly, and the chairs near the hot fireplace were a precious commodity. Even if a first year like Rose found a vacant seat, an upperclassman would kick them out within a few minutes. In Slytherin, seniority mattered.  
  
The mantelpiece was everything one would expect for the Slytherin rooms, large, ornate, and carved both expansively and intricately. Underneath it, the fire crackled and popped. It seemed to Rose that it rather gave off more heat than a regular fire; she wouldn’t be at all surprised if it had been magically enhanced. If only it had been charmed to spread the warmth throughout the entire dungeon!  
  
A flash of silver caught her eye.  
  
“Hey, what’s that?” she said, pointing as she tried to lean closer without getting burnt.  
  
“What’s what?” Peony asked, peering into the fireplace as well.  
  
“That little silver mark, towards the back of the fireplace.”  
  
Peony followed where her friend was pointing. “Huh,” she said. “That’s strange. It’s hard to tell from back here, but it almost looks like a little snake.”  
  
“Only one way to find out,” Rose said, pulling out her wand and pointing it at the fire. “AGUAMENTI!”  
  
A stream of water exploded from the end of her wand, extinguishing the fire.  
  
“Did you have to do that?” Peony said, annoyed, as she pulled her cloak tighter around herself. “It’s way too freezing to put out the fire!”  
  
“Sorry,” Rose mumbled, as she got to her knees and crawled into the fireplace, searching for the silver mark that had gotten their attention. “That’s weird.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“It’s not here,” Rose said. “That silver snake thing.”  
  
“Let me look,” Peony said. Her friend pulled herself out of the fireplace, and Peony stuck her head in. It _was_ gone.  
  
“I wonder why?” said Rose.  
  
Peony wrinkled her nose at her hands and knees, now cold and dirty from the wet charcoal. “I don’t know,” she said, pulling out her wand and performing a quick cleaning charm, “but let’s get the fire going again. It’s way too cold in here.”  
  
“Uh-oh,” Rose said, and looked sheepish.  
  
Peony raised her eyebrow. “‘Uh-oh’?”  
  
“I’m not sure how to start a real fire if the wood is wet,” she explained sheepishly.  
  
Peony sighed and pointed her wand at the fireplace. “Incendio!” she cried.  
  
It didn’t produce a fire, but the air felt steamier, and the wet logs were somewhat warmer and drier. She cast ‘Incendio’ two more times, and each time the wood was drier and drier. On her fourth try, she finally managed to set them alight, and in a few minutes the fire was burning merrily.  
  
“Good thinking,” Rose said. “I really need to learn the extinguishing spell. Hey, the snake is back!”  
  
She pointed, and sure enough, there it was.  
  
“I swear, it wasn’t there when the fire was out,” Peony said.  
  
“No, it definitely wasn’t,” Rose agreed.  
  
“ _Don’t_ cast aguamenti again!” Peony said quickly.

Rose laughed. “I won’t.” She looked thoughtful, then her eyes lit up.  
  
“You have an idea?” Peony asked.  
  
Rose nodded, and cast the flame-freezing charm on the fire.  
  
“Couldn’t you have done that in the first place?”  
  
The redhead shrugged sheepishly. “Didn’t think of it,” she admitted. She leaned into the fireplace, and started giggling.  
  
“What?”  
  
“It tickles!” Rose squirmed uncomfortably as she forced herself to look at the back of the fireplace.  
  
“Well, is the snake there?”  
  
“It is!” She reached out to touch it, and as she did, the back wall of the fireplace made a groaning sound. It pushed back, slowly, until there was enough room for Rose to crawl through the space where the corners used to be.  
  
“Peony!” she called. “We found something! Come in after me!”  
  
Rose scrambled to her feet and performed a cleaning charm on herself as she waited for her friend to follow her. After Peony emerged into the new room, the brick square that was the other side of the fireplace slid back into place, leaving a plain brick wall behind them.  
  
They looked around the room. It was fairly normal looking, but there was one feature that clearly overpowered everything else.  
  
“That’s really disturbing,” Rose said, staring at a painting upon the wall.  
  
It was a huge painting, dominating an entire wall of the room. On it was another room, not so different from the one they were in, with a gigantic snake slithering about it.  
  
Slithering and _hissing_.  
  
“Are paintings of snakes supposed to hiss?” Peony asked. “Only there’s this painting in my sitting room at home, my great great grandmother sitting on a horse. And _she_ can talk, of course, but the horse has never made any noise. Come to think of it, there are portraits with dogs, and it’s the same thing. I’ve never heard them bark.”  
  
Rose studied the painting intently. It was a good thing she wasn’t scared of snakes, because if she were, the way it kept twisting about, sometimes glancing right at her as though it knew she was there, this one would have sent her screaming from the room instantly.  
  
“Well,” Rose said. “I’ve never heard any animals in a painting make noise, either. But then again, I have tons of photographs of family and friends, and even though they’re people they can’t talk. Same with pictures in books.”  
  
“Ugh, can you imagine if those wizards in our History of Magic books were droning on and on as we tried to read about them? It would be so annoying.”  
  
Rose shrugged. “Or cool. They were actually there, after all, they’d probably have a fascinating perspective.”  
  
Up on the wall, the snake slithered. It flickered its tongue and looked straight at Rose, and again hissed eerily.  
  
“True, but how often have you found a portrait that actually has interesting things to say?” Peony pointed out. “All the ones I know are more like echoes. They only have the very surface.”  
  
Rose nodded. “That’s true. Though my Uncle Harry still likes to go and talk to that portrait of Dumbledore up in the Headmaster’s office sometimes. So maybe some of them are special.”  
  
“Okay, so this one is special,” Peony said. “But why? Why have a secret room with a huge painting of a hissing snake?”  
  
“Well, this _is_ Slytherin.”  
  
Peony rolled her eyes. “Yes, it is, but fond as we are of snakes, why make it actually hiss when animals in paintings usually don’t? There had to be some _reason_.”  
  
“And we’ll figure it out,” Rose said, confidently. She leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms, studying the picture thoughtfully.  
  
–

  
Easter holidays arrived.

This time, Rose got down from Hogwarts Express with her friends. Their families probably weren't any more comfortable with the situation, but Rose had been in Slytherin for over half a year now, and a lot of the novelty had worn off for her and her fellow students, 

It wasn't hard to spot the Weasleys at Platform 9 ¾. The Weasleys might not be quite so monochromatic as they once were—none of the aunts or uncles who married into the family had red hair, except for Uncle Percy's wife—but in a group, they still looked like one great mass of redheads.

Rose was turning to her friends, about to say goodbye, when Peony grabbed her arm so tightly that Rose let out a yelp. 

“Ow!” she exclaimed. “What--”

“Him!” Peony hissed, pointing urgently across the platform.

Rose was confused. “Who?” she asked, following her friend's finger. “What, Pierce?”

Pierce Wilkes was a second-year Slytherin, kind of a bully but usually civil enough to Rose and her friends.

“No,” Peony whispered. “His father. He was one of the people over at my house over Christmas. Whatever my parents are doing, he’s a part of it.”  
  
Rose’s eyes widened as she looked from her friend to the tall, weedy-looking man that was Mr. Wilkes.  
  
They had a clue.

 

 

 


	8. In Which Ron Weasley is Extremely Helpful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated this in a really long time-- years. I never actually abandoned it, I've just been having the worst writer's block of my entire life. It has literally lasted for years. It's been absolutely awful. It even affected my ability to write school papers-- I used to be able to churn out a high quality page every 20 minutes, but suddenly sometimes I couldn't even write the papers at all, and I dropped out of grad school.
> 
> I have to admit, I’m not that confident of the quality of this chapter-- this is the first thing (more than 500 words anyway) I’ve written in 4 years, so I’m rather rusty, and I’m still not entirely over the writer’s block. But if I wait until it’s perfect, or even up to what feels like my former quality, I might never get going again. I really want to try to get back on the horse, so I decided to actually get SOMETHING out. Hopefully more to come soon! If this is the end of The Great Writer’s Block of ‘11-’15, I’ll probably go back and revise this later when I’ve gotten my bearings again. 
> 
> Please please review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated, especially since I’m rusty, but please don't be *super* discouraging; being able to write this much at all is a huge step forward for me!

Chapter 8: In Which Ron Weasley is Extremely Helpful

 

\--  
  
  
Rose's eyes widened. She looked over again to see the man standing over Pierce. He was tall, and kind of weedy-looking, with straw-coloured hair and sunken-looking eyes. “Are you sure?”

Peony nodded. “He came by three times that I saw. Yes, I'm sure.”

Rose was about to answer when she was interrupted by a shout.

“Rosie!” Ron called. “What's keeping you? Come on!”

She bit her lip and looked over at her family, then back at her friend.

“We can't talk about it now,” Peony said. “I'll let Tony know, and we'll talk more after the holidays, okay?”

Rose nodded. “You'll be on the lookout for anything strange at your house?”

She rolled her eyes. “For the tenth time, yes! And Tony will too!” She glanced around. “Now my parents are heading over here, too. Have a good break!”

Rose hugged Peony quickly, and with one last glance over at Pierce Wilkes and his father, turned and went over to greet her family.

This break was less of an emotional rollercoaster for Rose. Ron still wasn’t happy about Rose’s friends, but nothing about that had changed since Christmas and he’d had more time to come to terms with the situation. Hugo was still reserved and withdrawn from his sister, but not quite as badly as before.  
  
During that week, the Potters had a dinner party for all the grown-ups’ school friends, as they did several times throughout the year. As was normal for this kind of gathering, the adults were reminiscing about the war, telling stories that Rose and Hugo (and James, Albus, and Lily) had heard a hundred times before.  
  
There was one story Mum always liked to tell, because Dad had really been quite clever. Apparently, at the Battle of Hogwarts, he managed to open the Chamber of Secrets to get basilisk fangs to destroy the Horcruxes.  
  
Though she’d heard the story many times before, something piqued Rose’s curiosity this time.  
  
“You said that he spoke Parseltongue?” Rose asked. “But I thought you have to be a Parselmouth to do that.”  
  
“Parselmouths are born able to speak it,” Mum explained, “but anyone can memorize a word and use it, like with any language, really.”  
  
“So Dad, what is it that you actually said?”  
  
Dad looked over at his daughter, a bit hesitant, but he obligingly opened his mouth and produced a strange hissing noise.  
  
“Wow,” Rose said, and tried to make the same noise he did. “Like that?”  
  
“Just like that,” said Dad.  
  
“What does it mean?”  
  
Dad shrugged. “‘Open’ or something, I guess.”  
  
Rose grinned. So now she knew a word in Parseltongue. That was cool.

She wouldn’t have realized the word’s importance-- well, she was sure she’d have thought of it eventually, but she wouldn’t have realized so quickly-- if some of the other grown-ups hadn’t been talking about hiding out in the Room of Requirement. Among other topics, they reminisced about how they’d managed to get food from the Hog’s Head.  
  
As they described the portrait passageway of Ariana Dumbledore, a light went on inside Rose’s head.  
  
“So, wait,” Rose said. “There was a secret passage?”  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
“And the way to get through was to ask the painting?”  
  
“That’s right,” said Neville. “We’d ask her to open it, and she’d turn and walk away from us in the painting. Then it would swing open, and we could walk through to the other side.”  
  
“It was really cool,” said Uncle Harry. “While Neville was walking through the passageway, in the other portrait, the one at the Hog’s Head, we could actually see him walking towards us inside the painting.”  
  
“And on the other side too, the only way to open it was for Ariana Dumbledore to do it for you?”  
  
“Yeah,” said Dad. “Why so many questions all of a sudden? Usually you complain you’re bored to death when we talk about the war.”  
  
Rose shrugged. “No reason,” she said casually. “It’s just more interesting now that I’m at Hogwarts, I guess.”  
  
Dad accepted that explanation, and went back to talking with his friends.  
  
Rose remained composed on the outside, but inside she was churning with excitement. Asking the person in a portrait could be the key to opening up a secret passage... what about a _snake_ , if it were asked in the snakes’ language?  
  
Had she solved the riddle of the fireplace room? Rose couldn’t wait to get back to Hogwarts to find out.  
  
\--  
  
Rose sat at her desk, Transfiguration textbook open in front of her, but for once she wasn’t actually doing her homework. Her eyes gazed at the words on the page without really seeing them as she tried to figure out how she might go about sneaking her broomstick out of her house and into Hogwarts.

As she’d said before, it was really the “out of the house” part that would be difficult. Bags and suitcases weren’t searched at Hogwarts, so all she had to do was find an opportunity to hide her broom at the back of her wardrobe when Aurelia wasn’t around. No, getting it past Mum (and Dad too, Rose supposed, but mostly Mum) would be the challenge.

Mum didn’t actually search Rose’s luggage either, so what would tip her off?

That made it obvious: she would notice that the broomstick was missing.  
  
Rose grinned. Yes, and if the SilverBullet 3.0 was sitting there in Rose’s room, then Mum would have no reason to get suspicious.

_And luckily, I’ve already mastered the duplication spell!_ This would be a piece of cake, Rose was sure.

 

\--

It wasn’t a piece of cake.

Rose growled in frustration as she yet again failed to create a duplicate of her SilverBullet broomstick. It turned out trying to create a copy of a broomstick was a lot more difficult than creating copies of old History of Magic notes.

“They must have charms on them to prevent people from making copies,” Rose muttered to herself. “Otherwise nobody would bother buying them, they’d just duplicate their friend’s broom.”

Of course, Rose didn’t need the broom to be _functional_ \-- her Mum hated flying and knew nothing about broomsticks or Quidditch, so it wasn’t like she was going to test it out. It just needed to _look_ like the SilverBullet 3.0.

It felt like it shouldn’t be hard to create something that just looked like her broom, but it seemed that creating a less complicated version of an object was entirely different from creating an exact copy. Now that she thought about it, yes, Rose _had_ read that duplication spells that included modifications were much higher-level.

She sighed after yet another failed attempt. Alright, duplication spells weren’t going to do the trick. She would have to try something else. There had to be a solution; she just had to think of it, or find it in a book.

She could transfigure something else into a broom that looked like her SilverBullet-- if she’d had about five more years of Transfiguration classes under her belt. She could try a glamour, but it would wear off after she was gone for a few days, and she would rather not get caught at all.

She frowned, and mostly just because she wanted to feel like she was doing _something_ , lifted her wand to try another facsimile spell.

As she started to wave her wand, there was a knock on her door. Rose rushed to put away her wand, but uncharacteristically, Ron entered the room almost immediately, without waiting for an answer. Rose hadn’t even had time to drop her wand arm before he was through the door, which he closed behind him.

“What’s this, then?” he asked, sounding a little too casual.

Rose’s eyes darted from her wand, to the broom in front of her, to the Charms text open on her bed, and then to her father.

“Just curious about the charms they use on the SilverBullet 3.0,” she said. “Trying to see if I can detect any of them.”

Her dad raised his eyebrows. “Have you always been able to come up with lies so quickly, or is this a newly developed skill?” he asked.

_Aw, crap. Busted._

“What do you mean?” Rose asked, the picture of innocence.

Dad rolled his eyes, and leaned over to snatch her book off the bed-- her book that was still open to where she’d been reading it last.

“So if you’re trying to detect the spells on your broom, why are you reading about duplication spells?” he asked.

Rose opened her mouth to answer, but her father cut her off before she could say anything.

“No, Rosie, please don’t. I’m already unnerved by how well you lie, and I don’t appreciate you trying to tell me lie after lie.”

Rose sighed and gave up. “Sorry,” she said.

“Sorry you got caught, maybe,” Dad replied, but not without a trace of humour in his voice. “You’re lucky I caught you, instead of your Mum. She’d be furious if she knew you were trying to sneak your broomstick to Hogwarts.”

“You’re not going to tell Mum?” Rose asked, with surprise and growing hope.

“Of course not,” Dad replied. “If I did, she’d be angry at me for doing this.”

And the next thing Rose knew, her father had whipped out his wand, and with a few words and swishes of his wand, a perfect copy of her SilverBullet 3.0 was lying on the ground next to the real one.

Rose’s jaw dropped.

Next, Dad cast a shrinking spell on her broom, then leaned over to pick it up.

“I trust you’ll be able to return this to its real size?” he asked, as he handed the miniaturized broom to his daughter.

Rose nodded, still having trouble processing the events of the past minutes.

“Uh… thanks,” she managed. “I mean-- really, really, _thanks_.”

Dad smiled at her. “No problem,” he said. “It would be a bit of a waste, such a good broom sitting around unused for half a year. What kind of father would I be, if I gave you a Christmas gift you weren’t allowed to use?”

With that, he winked at her, and strode back out the door.

Rose looked down at the broom sitting on her palm.  
  
“Well,” she said. “That was brilliant.”

She quickly wrapped the broom in a blouse and stuffed it into her suitcase. Then, unable to help herself, she jumped up and down and squealed.

It was really going to happen! She was going to have her broom at Hogwarts!

  
\--  
  
Unfortunately, as she passed through the doors of Hogwarts, her plan hit an unexpected snag.  
  
“Stop right there, Missy!” barked Tyman Trumble, the caretaker of Hogwarts. He marched up to Rose and pointed at her sternly.  
  
“What did I do?” Rose asked, baffled.  
  
He scoffed. “Playing innocent? You’ve got something with a banned charm in that trunk of yours. Come with me.”  
  
Rose looked around at her friends in bewilderment, and they looked equally surprised. There wasn’t much she could do besides shrug, murmur, “I’ll see you later,” and follow Trumble down the hallway.  
  
“You’re in Slytherin house, is that correct?”  
  
Rose nodded distractedly, as she wracked her brain for what might be going on. Something with a banned charm? What in her trunk had a banned charm? As a First Year, she wasn’t supposed to have a broomstick, of course, but she couldn’t imagine they had a way to make flight charms show up as banned only when they were in First Years’ trunks.  
  
Trumble marched up to a group of professors as Rose followed behind.  
  
“Professor Bole?” he asked. “I have a matter that needs your attention.”  
  
The professor excused herself from the other teachers, as her eyes flickered down to Rose and then back to the caretaker.  
  
“What’s the problem?” she asked.  
  
“When this girl entered Hogwarts, her trunk tripped off one of our scanning spells. She’s got something in there that’s against the rules. I figured this was a matter for her Head of House.”  
  
“Well, technically Professor Sinistra is still Head of Slytherin house, but I’m sure I can take care of this. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”  
  
Trumble nodded to her, and departed, probably to harass some other student. Rose looked up at the Professor worriedly.  
  
Bole sighed. “Come on, Rose,” she said. “We should do this in the privacy of my office.”  
  
Once they were inside the office and the doors closed, Professor Bole took out her wand and performed a Revealing Charm on the trunk.  
  
“Ah, a broomstick,” Professor Bole said. Rose blushed bright red and shuffled her feet. “Retrieve it for me, if you please.”  
  
Face still burning, she opened her trunk and quickly pulled out the miniature broom.  
  
“Did this really show up as a banned item?” Rose asked as she handed over the SilverBullet 3.0 to her professor. “How do they differentiate First Years’ luggage from the rest of the students’?”  
  
“They don’t,” Professor Bole said, taking the broom and enlarging the broom to its regular size before looking it over briskly. “Under normal circumstances, you would have been able to sneak in the broom successfully. Unfortunately for you, there appears to be another, separate charm on this.”  
  
“ _What_?” Rose exclaimed. “Is it something about the SilverBullet, the new version has a banned charm on it?”  
  
“I don’t believe so,” said Professor Bole. “A few other students have them this year, and none of those showed up in our scanning charms. My guess is that someone put an extra spell onto your broom, after purchasing it.”  
  
“But, that’s...” she trailed off. “What kind of charm? How is that possible? Who did it?”  
  
“As for the last question, you would have a better idea than I do,” said the Professor. “As for the former two, I expect I’ll be able to have an answer after I’ve had a chance to inspect it. And I daresay that after I discover the exact nature of the charm, we will both be in a better position to divine the reason for it, as well as the identity of the caster.  
  
“But,” continued Professor Bole, her manner becoming stern, “I am going to have to confiscate this, you know. First Years are not allowed to have brooms, and I know you were aware of that rule.”  
  
Rose sighed and nodded resignedly. She was disappointed, but not surprised.

“You’ll tell me when you know more about the spell, though?”  
  
The professor nodded. “But do me a favor, please.”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“Don’t tell anybody about this,” she said. “At least, not until I know more about it. Then we’ll have a better idea how we should proceed.”  
  
“Okay.” That made sense. Rose was rather intrigued with the secret of the unexplained broomstick spell. That something strange and mysterious was happening to her _almost_ made up for the fact that her broom had been taken away from her.  
  
It was really kind of cool to have a secret with a professor.

Not so long ago Rose might have worried about how to conceal it from her friends without lying. But that night, when Liatris asked her-- quietly, eyes darting over to make sure that Aurelia wasn’t nearby, whispering just loudly enough that Peony could hear her as well-- whether she’d managed to bring the SilverBullet to Hogwarts, Rose didn’t need to fake her nonchalance.  
  
“Ask me no questions, and I’ll tell you no lies,” she quipped lightly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Peony whispered, but Rose just smiled back mysteriously.

She was really getting the hang of this whole Slytherin thing.

 

 


End file.
